Snappy

"I think I hear a waterthrush calling", Patty said as she went to get her binoculars. We were preparing the house for visitors, but I too grabbed my bins and headed out.

I found this.

A female Common Snapping Turtle digging a nest.

Once before Patty had seen a snapping turtle in the yard. And I had spotted one on the neighbors lawn last year. But how cool is it that it is nesting here?

Well she may not have though it so cool. If you look closely (bigify first) you'll see nine (!) mosquitos on or about the turtle, eight of which are full of blood. That could not have been pleasant.

A while later I went back to check on the situation, and she had finished and moved to the end of our little bridge.

That white spot just above her head? Another mosquito.

As she was blocking the end of the bridge I went around and down the trail to get this shot. Known to be ornery when on land (they spend most of their life in water, coming out to lay eggs) I didn't want to get too close (I used my 100-400 mm lens and kept my distance).

I went back again later, once she had moved on from the bridge and found her relaxing in an transient pool. Alas she was gone when our guests arrived.

🐦🐢🐦🐢🐦🐢🐦🐢🐦🐢

After she had gone we checked to see if there were any eggs. A quick look did not reveal any. I hope we did not disturb her and scare her off.

And we never did find the waterthrush, although Patty says she continues to hear it. Hmmm ...