Mama Is Busy!

  Early this afternoon, the neighborhood watch sent up their alarm calls causing me to head outside barefoot in the drizzly rain.  If some predator was lurking too near the wren's nest or the new baby squirrels, I wanted to divert its attention.  Instead, it was my attention that was diverted.  About halfway down the hillside to where the marsh comes up near the wild persimmon tree, my foot found soft soil.  Well, that was different.  Looking down, I realized that I stepped into a small hole.  It was then that I noticed several other holes of the same size and pattern dug nearby.  Decoy holes!  

  Decoy holes are what I call the random bunch of holes that a mama cooter turtle will dig before she settles on the perfect site to lay her eggs. Sometimes up to a dozen holes will be dug and abandoned.  The abandonment can caused merely by an unsatisfactory soil condition such as too many roots or perhaps some debris (glass) left over from a hurricane or can be the result of the turtle being disrupted while digging.  The extra holes can also be a ploy to protect her eggs from predators.  Whatever the case, Mama Turtle digs several holes before finally laying her eggs. 

  Since the neighborhood watch of blue jays was in the old oak tree overhanging the marsh, the ruckus was soon forgotten.  Instead, I searched for Mama Turtle.  It was not long before I found her beneath the mimosa tree. She seemed to be content with her latest hole as she was in the midst of depositing eggs there. Not wanting to disturb her, I kept my distance and let her do her egg-laying duty in peace.  The future generation of Bayou Turtles depend on these stoic ladies and their ploy of diverting predators and I sure did not wish for her to think I was one!