Very Little Wildlife

One big disappointment for me on this trip was a lack of wildlife. I had always heard great stories about the variety of bird life on the Outer Banks and was looking forward to spotting some rare species. Also, since we were going to be in the Alligator River Wildlife Refuge for one day I was thinking we would see some black bears (they're thick there) and maybe even a Red wolf (their numbers are growing in the Refuge).

But we saw very little in the way of wild creatures. Oh, we spotted the usual suspects: White-tailed deer, sliders, pelicans, osprey, red-winged blackbirds, terns, sandpipers, and the like. But nothing to get us excited. I've been told we were there at a good time to spot good numbers and ranges of animals...but the luck was not with us, in that respect.

Apparently it was egg-laying season for snapping turtles. To that end, we did manage to rescue two snapping turtles from very dangerous journeys across the highway. In both cases I pulled off the road and ran back to gather them up and transport them to a safer location. One of the turtles was rather small (I picked her up by the tail and placed her in a sand bucket), but the second one was pretty darned large and I had to corral her into a box and place her in the back of the truck. But we managed to take them to good, safe spots away from the road where they could find both shelter and nesting places.

The small snapping turtle in the sand bucket.

A final portrait before I showed her the pond.

As soon as she saw the water...she was off!

Splash!

"HA! HA! You can't catch me now, human!"

"I'm out o' here!"

"The point of no return!"

And then, all but invisible.

Carole cheers me on from the boardwalk above the pond.