I was riding my bike along the boardwalk of Austin's hike and bike the other day and came across this scene, the turtles all lined up on top of each other, looking at the heron, the heron looking like it was leading a team meeting or giving a performance of some kind. It's sometimes amazing to watch species interact, especially species from such different perspectives as birds and turtles. But here they are, just hanging out together. What story would you tell about what they are doing? Are they all just relaxing together? Are they telling stories through a common language we can't understand, body language or telepathy? Do turtles know what a bird's song means, the way English speakers learn Spanish? Or are the turtles protecting something, some food or some young or some territory? I took an animal studies course in college but wish I could have studied it more. I guess that's kind of what nature photography is, though. I've sat and taken photographs of a snail eating a leaf for an hour, not realizing until I played the images back just how animated and adorable it was. Now I'd suggest watching a snail eat to anyone.
Photo by Maria Sprow