Last month I shared the thrill I get each spring from the baby ducks that the Mama Mallard brings. As things were she had placed seven eggs in a brand new nest and spent long hours with them underneath her downy breast. Then the most awful thing came to pass…she was swimming in the pool, all alone, alas! I checked the nest and was aghast to find it empty, not even one egg was left. Days flew by and the mallard never returned. She’d done what she could to propagate but until next May she’s destined to wait.
If you recall, I explained what turtles do to ducklings in a pond. Out of curiosity I did some research and here’s what I found… they also eat other turtles by biting off their heads! Yep, that’s what I read, that’s what it said. It’s a small wonder that I have such disdain for these hard-shelled snappers with jaws of steel. They can even take a finger off! Just imagine how that would feel!
So I was more than angry when I spied a large one nestled under a small bush right next to my back porch. In my mind not much could be worse. She had dug into my landscaping rocks, scattered them far and wide, making her home right next to mine. Now I was furious at the thought of her laying heaven-only-knows how many eggs. It’s reported that over a period of several hours they can lay 20 to 40 ping-pong-ball-sized eggs. So the longer she lay planted under my bush the bigger the load would come from her tush! OMG!
Later we discovered the wicked reptile creeping past our pool, headed for the pond…no doubt in search of a poor unsuspecting little duck just beyond. There’s a rock ledge at one end of the pool and this stupid turtle inched its way to the edge and fell over it. Lucky thing she wasn’t hurt. There’s a two-foot drop onto the concrete deck where she landed upside down on her back! (Now that gave me a real good laugh.) My husband said, “Poor Baby.” He picked it up and put it out in the grass but not before she peed on him. (“Poor Baby,” my ass.) But turtles are REALLY stupid and it headed right back to the wall, fell over the side again (upright this time) and into the pool it crawled. What’s the deal with this swimming pool? And who was going to get her out ~ certainly not moi?! Ken put a wooden plank sticking out of the shallow end up to the deck, like this genius was going to climb up it to safety? Can’t you just picture that? She swam around in there for two days. Our pool guy finally fished her out and returned her to her home. Good riddance. I’ll never have to worry about seeing that slime ball again. (Not the pool guy, the turtle.) Once the eggs are laid, the mother turtle leaves the nest never to return. Her eggs are abandoned and will hatch in two to three months being left to fend for themselves ~ all on their own. To win a “Mother of the Year Award” a turtle is not prone!
Wishing my patio weren’t going to be blanketed by a horde of hatchlings in 8 to 16 weeks I considered checking Pinterest for any turtle soup recipes I might try for treats. When what to my wondering eyes should appear was a six-foot long Rat Snake!!! I stood very still and hoped it would steer right to where the turtle had left all those eggs. My prayers were answered as it slithered under that plant. I stayed frozen in place while wanting to dance. It spent quite a while seemingly content. Then its head appeared dragging its lumpy body along. No more turtle eggs; the snake had seen to it they were all gone!
I’m not totally convinced that the missing duck eggs were part of a snake’s snack. They could have been lunch for a large hungry hawk. Or a tasty tidbit for a scavenging skunk. Any opossum worth its salt could be at fault.
No matter the culprit I’m totally woeful.
But the fact that the turtle eggs met their demise
Means maybe next spring more ducklings will survive!
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