Sunday, I was carrying corn chop out to the feeding areas, and--while taking a less-common route from the dry woods to Owl Pavilion, cut through the north woods and along the creek. I was hoping to find and photograph a particular spreadwing damsel from the day before but instead spotted a dragonfly I'd never seen. It perched only in a tangle of flood debris (on the other side, in fact) but I got a few images that, together, proved its identity as a Turquoise-tipped Darner. The turquoise spot on the underside of the last abdominal segments, combined with the blue face and eyes, and the green stripes on the dark thorax, make it eye-catching and beautiful.
On Monday afternoon, while clambering around in the creek bed, I found this turtle, a River Cooter, on its way from one drying pool to another. Far enough downstream, the creek is permanent, and that's where this turtle will spend the winter, no doubt.
This turtle's best overland speed through weeds and over the stony dry bed of the creek sounded remarkably like a human trying to sneak up on me.Other good finds: hermit thrush, yellow-rumped warblers (pair), orange-crowned warbler, robins (small flock, maybe 4-6), winter wren, Texas garter snake, lots of spreadwings (still not IDed for sure, except the Great Spreadwings and the Common Spreadwings), a new flowering plant (still not IDed--some kind of aster, found only in the creekbed on a mudbank), a treehopper, a jumping spider with another spider, prey, clasped in its arms.