Just goes to show that where you are, humans are not necessarily at the top of
the food chain. At least not all of them. Keep a weather eye on the grandkids.
--Bob Whitmire
Certified Neanderthal
On Apr 1, 2015, at 8:51 PM, Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> We have a small pond behind our house which, due to the construction of other
> new houses around it is pretty muddy. I had considered it likely devoid of
> much life... until the weather started warming up. Peepers had been peeping
> for months but when the temperature rose last week, as the night fell, the
> little guys were joined by a chorus of bull frogs from the pond and followed
> by daytime visits of geese, ducks, herons large and small and even a stork.
>
> Yesterday I spotted a familiar dark object laying low on the water and
> another resting on the bank at the end of the pond. Further investigation
> led me to go grab the E-M1 outfitted with the 75-300 and a monopod.
>
> This is what I finally shot from about 10 feet at 300mm. He wouldn't let me
> get any closer than that. He looks large but he's only about 4 feet long.
> You can tell he's young from the yellowish marks on his skin. He'll be all
> black as he get older. His buddy was playing shy somewhere and I estimate
> him at about 5 feet. <http://zone-10.com/tope2/main.php?g2_itemId=16857>
>
> This little guy demonstrated some interesting behavior. At first he
> skedaddled when I got about 30 feet away. But he didn't go very far. I
> approached him again and got to within about 20 feet. That time he made
> himself scarce for a while. I walked to the other end of the pond and
> started looking for the other one. Then I got distracted wondering if there
> might be any snakes in a large pile of (warm) stones designed as a spillway
> should the pond overflow. After a short time I looked up and saw the little
> guy swimming directly at me from some distance away and he then made a 90
> degree turn and approached the bank of the pond that's near my house. I
> slowly worked my way over there stopping every now and then to take an ever
> closer shot. I finally got the one at the link from about 10 feet away.
> When I tried to get even closer still he decided the game was over and dove
> under and away as fast as his tail would take him.
>
> I saw him and his buddy both again today but didn't have time to go check
> them out. I hope to play the game again soon to see how close he'll let me
> approach.
>
> There are also lots of turtles in the 8-12" diameter range. They like to sun
> themselves on a small concrete culvert that empties into the pond. They're
> much more afraid of me than the gators are. The turtles skedaddle as soon as
> they spot me moving toward them. It's been hard to get a good closeup shot
> even at 600mm equivalent.
--
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