The Last Baby Turtle
The pied-billed grebe has been absent from Lakeside Park for a few weeks, but this morning I spotted it again as the mallards swam in, leaving the grebe paddling around on its own. The grebe was still keeping its distance from anything remotely human. It fished as it gradually moved away:
It submerged and then resurfaced carrying a fairly large fish for such a small bird. That fish then had to be maneuvered to head first:
And then came the problem of actually swallowing a fish that large:
As I took photos, I heard an eco bike pull in behind me. It was the gent I see quite often in the mornings having his breakfast at the table. He has a certain affinity with the animals at the lake. He told me on an earlier occasion how he happened upon the hatching of the baby snapping turtles and described how he'd put them in his cap and carried them down to the water's edge. We chatted for a while as we watched a red-tailed hawk way in the distance at the top end of the lake. I must admit that missing the hatching of the baby snapping turtles was a big disappointment for me, as I did happen to record the laying of the eggs.
I left the gent to go on my usual route, following a worn path through the grass. I stepped over what at first glance was a toad, but somehow it looked different, it had a long tail and what looked like a shell. It was a baby snapping turtle!
Probably the last of the baby turtles to hatch on what was an unusually warm morning. It was struggling to get through the tall wall of grass on the side of the path:
I decided to give the baby turtle a helping hand. I carefully picked it up and placed it in the palm of my hand. I could not believe how tiny it was:
I carried it to a shallow section of water and set it down:
And off it went into the water:
I decided to check on the main turtle nesting area at the top of the bank and made my way through the undergrowth where I noticed this red squirrel who was busy scratching its foot while also keeping a close eye on me:
There was no sign of any turtles hatching at the main nesting area, but a northern flicker did fly up from the grass as I approached from the path, and remarkably came back down to feed with people walking and cycling past.
I feel lucky that I was able to get close enough for this photo, the northern flickers are not usually this trusting:
Copyright © wildlakeside.blogpot.com 2019 Scott Atkinson All Rights Reserved.
It submerged and then resurfaced carrying a fairly large fish for such a small bird. That fish then had to be maneuvered to head first:
And then came the problem of actually swallowing a fish that large:
As I took photos, I heard an eco bike pull in behind me. It was the gent I see quite often in the mornings having his breakfast at the table. He has a certain affinity with the animals at the lake. He told me on an earlier occasion how he happened upon the hatching of the baby snapping turtles and described how he'd put them in his cap and carried them down to the water's edge. We chatted for a while as we watched a red-tailed hawk way in the distance at the top end of the lake. I must admit that missing the hatching of the baby snapping turtles was a big disappointment for me, as I did happen to record the laying of the eggs.
I left the gent to go on my usual route, following a worn path through the grass. I stepped over what at first glance was a toad, but somehow it looked different, it had a long tail and what looked like a shell. It was a baby snapping turtle!
Probably the last of the baby turtles to hatch on what was an unusually warm morning. It was struggling to get through the tall wall of grass on the side of the path:
I decided to give the baby turtle a helping hand. I carefully picked it up and placed it in the palm of my hand. I could not believe how tiny it was:
I carried it to a shallow section of water and set it down:
And off it went into the water:
I decided to check on the main turtle nesting area at the top of the bank and made my way through the undergrowth where I noticed this red squirrel who was busy scratching its foot while also keeping a close eye on me:
There was no sign of any turtles hatching at the main nesting area, but a northern flicker did fly up from the grass as I approached from the path, and remarkably came back down to feed with people walking and cycling past.
I feel lucky that I was able to get close enough for this photo, the northern flickers are not usually this trusting:
Copyright © wildlakeside.blogpot.com 2019 Scott Atkinson All Rights Reserved.
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