New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

Just yesterday my 98-year-old mother, who lives a mile from me, asked me "Where are the birds?". Yes, it does seem that many have disappeared. So where did they all go? In fact, they have not gone anywhere. And are very, very busy hatching chicks, feeding and fledging them, and then hopefully having a second clutch. It's just that they are less vocal and seemingly less visible now. The BIG SPRING awakening is now over. Time to settle into their defined territories and get those young in and out of the nests as quickly as possible. Hard to believe that spring is winding down so soon. It just barely got here it seems. So, we have birds, and squirrels, and rabbits, and turkeys galore right now. No doubt the most we will have this year. If you are a visible squirrel, well that hawk looking to feed her young, has a plan for you.  

 

While the daylight raucous of singing and calling and setting up territories has ended, the night crews have not. Gone are the peepers, and far gone the wood frogs. Now is green frog, pickerel frog and bull frog time. So, settle in near some wetland for this crowd. Ok not a crowd. These frogs are more apt to be a single frog along the shore scattered along the wetland circumference. So, it is the scattered banjo-like strum of a green frog or bellow of a bull frog that will be heard. Although I have found the exception here in my back yard last few evenings to be a few tree frogs still calling. Not the roar of frog filled trees I had a few weeks ago as the swarm of tree frogs swept by my house to and from the wetlands down back on the edge of the Suncook River. I think I can pick out three separate tree frogs sporadically calling around my house. I'm guessing these are my neighbor frogs. Resident frogs sort of speak. Good neighbors. 

 

Which has me wondering? How well do you know your backyard or town forest? Who are your Wild Neighbors? Do you know if you have three tree frog neighbors?