Red-eared Slider

Thanks for the pose!

 

As I was passing by

 Archive image

It was in the river and I happened to walk by, way off up on the ground, but the minute it spotted me, it instantly submerged to swim away.

How has it come to this that we are able to inspire so much fear in a fellow creature of the universe?!

A pleasant slider sight

 It's not so easy to see a red-eared slider in the taman these days that I was thrilled to come across one, and hoping that there are more even though not visible.

A just in time flight

I rarely see a Box Turtle stride so firmly out of the lake towards land, and this one looked like it was headed for across the path, into the undergrowth which I had seen one before lurking there.  Unfortunately for this one, as it sensed my approach it couldn't u-turn fast enough to return to the lake.  Quite comical, to say the least!

Intimate turtle moment

First, it was pretty disturbing when I saw the discoloured shells, practically bleached, of these three Red-eared Sliders.  

This one looked like it would soon meet the same fate as the other two bigger (and older?) ones.

Fortunately I had the opportunity to creep up on them again, and was rather heartened to note that it didn't affect their body as these turtles did look healthy.
This particular one then drew my attention by the way it balanced itself on the rock, how adorable I thought!

And I would be in for a pleasant surprise when another crawled up slowly from the water.

And then it looked like some loving was going on!

Yup, for sure there was!  How terribly sweet!

 And then that horrible leaf blower noise, breaking into the intimacy!

It looked like one of them had decided to move off.

Nope, something made it decide to turn back.

And get back together, but unfortunately not for long with the increasing approach of the leaf blower.

Back into the lake eventually.

As I was passing by

Thanks for the pose!

Turtle delight

This Box Turtle couldn't get away fast enough from me as I approached.  The heavy downpour the night before must have brought it out of the pond.  Seeing this one simply delighted me because it has been a truly long time since I saw any such species in the pond so it's heartening to know there are still these residents around, even if only one at this point in time.

Knowing how urgently it was trying to reach the pond to get away from me I decided not to pursue it for better shots.

A released turtle

I was momentarily petrified when I thought the turtle had swum into a piece of plastic.  On closer examination it looked like the reptile was blowing bubble over its head.  Much earlier I had seen this one and another released into the pond.  Perhaps it was merely trying to adjust to the midday heat and its new environment.

As I was passing by

Thanks for the pose!

Turtle encounter, almost

The nearer you come the further I go, and this was precisely what this red-eared slider did to me when I approached.  Spying it from across the pond its symmetrical image in the pond water had me hurrying along to get a closer shot but unfortunately sensing me from afar, it disappeared instantly into the pond.
What's interesting about this one is its age going by its faded shell, suggesting that it's a long time resident here.

I had much earlier came across another one, a box turtle, but this one looked totally out of place here, and it also promptly disappeared into the undergrowth probably because I was between it and the pond.

Sadly sighting turtles in the taman is so rare now.  I remember when it was quite easy to come across colonies of turtles, my biggest count being eight of big and small ones.

Ode to Ageing

An ageing beauty of the taman, of which its population has dwindled noticeably.  

It's a portrait of grace and dignity as it basks in the morning sun.  It's an ode to graceful ageing.

A natural time out

What does one do while waiting for the target bird to appear?  Take shots of whatever come around naturally!