We were back in Holland, Michigan this past fall and birding at one of our favorite sites, Stu Visser Trail. As we walked around the large pond on the west side of the park we spotted a strange sight – a Wood Duck going around in circles. It had evidently been doing so for a couple of minutes because the scum covering the pond had been swept away by the action of the duck. We watched in fascination/horror for a minute or so and couldn’t figure out what it was doing. The body appeared to go around in a circle but the feet remained at the center. It didn’t call out, but frantically moved about trying to escape. We never saw what it was holding the feet – could it have been a snapping turtle, or roots? What do you think it might have been?
Finally it found release and swam away as fast as it could go! Here are some pictures documenting the event:
Escape!
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Thankfully he survived!