Toads

With near record temperature yesterday and warm weather today, the local toads have started their springtime courting and mating.

While walking the Wilmot Pipeline right-of-way I found these toads and a strand of eggs in the wetland area. An easy way to determine frog eggs from toad eggs, is the toad eggs are in a long continuous strand and frog eggs are laid in a ball like mass.

Frog Eggs

The very warm weather of early March started mating season of the Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) and egg masses were soon found in many of the pools of water. The newly laid frog eggs looked like black dots surrounded with a clear "jelly".



After a couple of weeks, the black dots of the frog eggs have changed to elongated objects with a bump for a head and a tail that is starting to twitch.



This photo of frog eggs was taken when they were laid early in the month. Today, when I check the frog eggs in this pool of water, I found hundreds of small tadpoles were starting to hatch and swim around.

Grouse Nest

Jason Abell managed to locate a grouse nest on his farm while fixing fences and shared the location with me. Unlike the geese on our pond, grouse are harder to find and even harder to photograph.



I have placed an automatic camera about 4 feet from the grouse nest and will try to get some photos of a nesting grouse and maybe some photos of the chicks.

Goslings

After a month of sitting on a nest the big day has arrived and I got my first look at the little goslings. It was hard for her to hide the goslings as they squirmed around under her. Pieces of the egg shells are in the nest.



The weather was cool and drizzly, and Mother Goose tried to keep the goslings day and warm.



Some of the goslings are ready to head for the water.

Visiting Geese

I have been making several trips a day to our pond to check on the nesting goose and for a moment I thought the little ones had hatched.



It turned out to be another pair of geese from a neighboring pond, 1/4 mile away, had walked over to visit and show of their goslings.



The visit was friendly to start with but after a while the second pair of geese had overstayed their welcome. The resident gander had a few words with the visiting gander but he didn't take the hint.



In the afternoon, the turf war got even more heated and feathers started to fly. The two ganders battled for over a minute as the visiting goose and goslings watched. In the end, the visitors decided to stay on the far side of the pond.



By the end of the day none of the eggs in the resident goose nest had hatched.



Back on the nest after checking the eggs.

Waitting Goose

With today's warm weather the goose took some time off the nest for lunch and a quick swim. She has been sitting on the eggs for at least 25 days and the eggs should hatch within the next week.

Killdeer Chicks

While checking the killdeer nest today I noticed the bird was acting different than on my past visits to the nest.



On closer inspection of the nest I saw three of the four eggs had hatched and the fuzzy little chicks were still in the nest. Mother's Day for the killdeer.



The little chicks were motionless and huddled around the remaining egg. By the afternoon the fourth egg had hatched and the mother had moved the chicks to another location.

Sitting Duck

I've seen a pair of mallard ducks on our pond this spring and several times I would see the ducks and geese together.



This morning I found the duck sitting on a nest at the edge of the pond.



I'm not sure when the duck started sitting on the eggs since I've always seen the pair together until this morning.

Goose Nest

I drove to the cabin today to get some photos of the progress on the well pad construction and found the goose was off her nest and swimming in the pond with the gander. It didn't take the pair of geese too long before they were back at the nest.



The gander didn't come on shore but did follow me as I walked around the pond.



The goose was back on the nest when I returned from the well pad.

Goose Eggs

A pair of geese have been on the pond for the last week and today I found the nest while the bird was laying an egg.



Five eggs so far.

Turkey Nest

Since we travel back and forth on Joyce Road a lot to our different properties we've been asked several times this spring if we've seen any young turkey poults (chicks). Last Sunday I saw a half dozen hen turkeys in Jason's fields, but no poults. I may have the answer now. The hens are still sitting on their nests.

While I was mowing the small fields behind our house yesterday, I kicked a hen off her nest and missed the nest by inches with the tractor tire. I returned this morning to check on the nest and found the hen had returned. In the following picture, the nest is at the base of the tree on the right and the hen turkey is on the left, just taking off, wings raised.


The following photo shows the nest with 14 eggs in it.