I headed out for my daily photo walk in Hines Park in a bit of a sour mood. It was Mother’s Day and gorgeous out, but all I wanted was some good wildlife shots. When I pulled into the Nankin Lake parking lot and saw people tromping around, my first thought was they’d be making too much noise and scaring off every bird.
I walked about two and a half miles and snapped a bunch of photos that weren’t worth keeping. I had my back to Hines Drive and was scanning a marsh for wildlife when I heard a group of cyclists behind me. One of them called out to watch for the turtle. I wondered why they’d say that until I noticed a turtle sunning on a fallen log. I got a few pictures of it, then turned to cross the road.
That’s when I spotted a smaller turtle right in the middle of the pavement. I took some shots and started to walk off, but it hit me that even though the road was closed to through traffic, cars and trucks still use that stretch. So I picked the little guy up, carried him to the marsh, and set him down safely.
I kept heading toward my car and had just passed the first set of barricades when I heard and then saw a bird with a red head. My first guess was Red-headed Woodpecker, but it looked too big for that. Maybe a Pileated Woodpecker? I pulled up Merlin and used the sound ID to check what was calling. Sure enough, it was a Pileated. I watched it land on the side of a tree and got so excited I nearly stepped into the road without looking. This part of Hines Drive had more traffic, but I caught myself, checked both ways, and crossed to get some photos.
It felt fitting that it was a female on Mother’s Day. She didn’t seem bothered by the people or cars at all and just kept hunting for food. Running into her completely turned my mood around.
