caught in the act !

[Jerry]

a red ear trying to lay eggs. I must have disturbed her, because
she headed back to the pond.
Just maybe my failure to make the pond as escape proof as I hoped, failed.  Perhaps it's a blessing.  The buggers come and go.
I have too many anyway.

[dperry]

Jerry
Do you have other pictures of this turtle?  That doesn't look like a red-ear shell.  It looks like a painted turtle. While painted turtles are not native to California, the western painted is an alien, introduced species.  That shell sure doesn't look like a red-ear shell.

You may not have scared it away.  Turtles often have "false starts" when getting ready to lay their eggs.  The will start digging, then stop, maybe move to another spot and start digging again, or may even go back to the pond and try again the next day.  Most will dig the nest in the afternoon to early evening.

Don

[Jerry]

Id take another photo, but Ill never know which it was.
I do see some very slight differenes in the shells, very slight.
She went back to the pond on her own!