Picture of the Day for April 26, 2018

Signs that spring has arrived are the return the of the bluebirds (which a pretty male bluebird was singing in my yard this morning), flowers blooming (which I spotted some in town today), and the unique sound of the spring peepers. These tiny frogs make a lot of noise and I heard them singing today in the marshy areas. The spring peeper can produce its own “antifreeze” to help preserve the most essential organs in temperatures below freezing. They can actually freeze up to 70% of their body and their heart stops pumping and seem to be dead but somehow they can wake up and thaw out to join the chorus with the return of spring.

Another Sign of Spring

Another Sign of Spring

Spring Peeper Peeping

https://youtu.be/OSEKxiq-C8E&w=640&h=430&rel=0

Picture of the Day for April 25, 2018

Yesterday afternoon I cleaned out a bunch of bluebird houses since some bluebirds have returned a few days ago. There was a lot of evidence of winter squatters in the houses but this was the first year that I didn’t have to forcibly evict the rodents from the boxes. Maybe they had cabin fever from the long winter and they all ventured out on the nice day.

Previous Squatter

Previous Squatter

Picture of the Day for April 24, 2018

Even though there was a few patches of ice left on my pond, some ducks finally returned last evening. There were three wood ducks and a pair of mallards all swimming around the pond and the female wood duck entered the wood duck house several times so maybe the weather will stay nice so she can lay some eggs.

Return of the Wood Ducks
Return of the Wood Ducks

Wood Ducks Preening

https://youtu.be/s2zpeiEXqEc&w=640&h=430&rel=0

 

Picture of the Day for April 17, 2018

The Redpolls normally only spend a month or two during the winter months in my backyard as they actually summer near the arctic circle so apparently they think winter is sticking around here a lot longer. I know they are eating a lot of my seeds and they have throat pouches for temporarily storing seeds so they can fly away to eat the seeds in a more protected spot including under the snow. Redpolls can tunnel into the snow a foot to stay warm during the night.

Redpolls Still Around

Redpolls Still Around