Remembering back to last fall, there was a tremendous mast crop including abundant acorns and white pine cones, both valuable food sources for many rodents. Every chipmunk in New Hampshire must have stuffed its pantry with enough food to support multiple litters of many little 'munks.
The birds are also hatching now, the most visible of course being the Canada geese.
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| Six little fluff balls out for a swim |
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They grow quickly - here they are just five days later
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Even the week before last I saw a different goose family (is that a gaggle?) crossing Meredith Center Road and the chicks were already over a foot tall. I always keep my eye open for the wood duck family, which I rarely see, but this year I got lucky.
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| Seven little wood ducklings, all tucked in behind mom |
Amphibians are not very visible in their mating season, but they sure are audible. On those warm spring nights the lakes are filled with calls of frogs and toads looking for love. Have you heard a creaky door slowly opening and closing continuously around the lake? It was probably the mating call of a pickerel frog announcing its availability.
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| Pickerel frog |
You can hear the voice of the pickerel frog inviting a mate over for a visit by clicking here.
Loons are now into their prime nesting season. Some pairs, including the pair on Pleasant Lake, laid their eggs almost two weeks ago. Our Wicwas pair has been working on finding a nesting site, but I'm not aware they've settled on a home for the year. Seeing a pair poking around close to shore is a sure sign they are searching for nesting sites.
They have no other reason to venture close to land as they can dive safely for fish in deep water.
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Building up a potential nesting site with one loon on watch
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We again have a third loon on the lake, but all seem to be sharing better this year; we'll see what happens as the summer progresses. As in previous years, the Loon Preservation Committee has a live loon-cam at a nest on an undisclosed lake in New Hampshire - all we know is that it's within an hour's drive from the Loon Center. There is a lot of great information on their website, and there are some amazing videos if you look back through this year's video highlights.
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| A frame from this year's loon-cam |
Even the butterflies are procreating; I caught a couple of Tiger Swallowtails having an intimate moment.
More butterflies are on the way!
the chipmunks are bountiful this year! We have had a bear here on Corliss Hill these past few weeks. On an early morning walk, I saw a Mama with her three cubs and two deer with their fawns.
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