The Odd Couple

Donald Sieber

As I strolled through Katherine Albertsons memorial park in Boise, Idaho, on 8 September 2005, I was suddenly made aware of a pair of eyes watching me as I crossed a small wooden bridge. One of the eyes belonged to a female wood duck (Aix sponsa) and the other to a turtle (species unknown).

I was struck by the nature of the symbiotic relationship formed by such diverse creatures. I'm sure that any sudden move on my part would have resulted in an instantaneous reaction by one of the symbiots followed by an equally quick response from the other.

The camera I used to record the event was a digital C-750 Olympus with 10X optical zoom that I carry on frequent nature walks.

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