I only learnt of the existence of Terry, the Stowe Pool terrapin, the other day, and hadn't expected to see him the first time I went looking – but there he was yesterday morning, basking in the May sun on an outwork of a big, messy coot's nest. The coots seemed entirely relaxed about his presence, and were carrying on with business as usual. Terry, according to Lichfield lore, has lived in Stowe Pool for years. He certainly looks as if he's been around a while, being about the size of a mature garden tortoise. He manages to hibernate and survive the winter – as do some 4,000 other 'feral' terrapins in the UK, most of them originally pets who, as they grew larger, proved too high-maintenance for their owners, who released them into the nearest expanse of water.
I was delighted to make Terry's acquaintance, and hope to see him again next time I'm passing Stowe Pool (which, by the way, is a reservoir, dating back to the 18th century in its present form, and full of impressive fish, including 25lb carp). And then, later in the day, I saw my first swifts – three of them, over a supermarket car park. Summer is here!
[The photo above is not mine, but captures Terry very well, I think.]
They're prehistoric-looking critters. Here in North Dakota we have painted turtles and the don't-mess-with-them snapping turtles. The gifted guitarist John Fahey liked turtles and titled one of his albums from the Bible, The Voice of the Turtle.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly are – and quite unnerving to see, even a harmless terrapin like Terry. I think the 'turtle' in the Bible must be the Turtle Dove, tho how the bird got that name I don't know, it certainly doesn't look much like a turtle...
DeleteYes, and I'm sure Fahey knew that the "turtle" in the Song of Solomon was a bird. But he had his little joke.
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