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Wild Things in New Hampshire

© Christina Coruth

I discovered where the wild things can be found; they are in my yard. Since I don't live in the wilds I was surprised. I wish I had strapped a camera around my neck and left it there for the spring/summer season. As it was, before the summer was over, I would seldom leave the house without my binoculars.

The season got underway about March 15th when ducks first landed in the little pond in the back yard. For the past few years a pair of mallards had taken up residence, chasing away all others. This year was no different until the female disappeared. By May 7th, she was back with 12 ducklings. The first evening they appeared was a real treat. Mother came running out from the brush, jumped into the water swimming towards the center and one by one the ducklings came running out as well, each jumping into the water, swimming furiously in a single file behind her. Our joy was short lived. We saw the ducklings one more evening, then never again. The mother returned alone.

March 16th proved to be an opportunity missed. Everyone was home that rainy morning. Dave, my husband, had gone to the garage and my daughter and I were in the living room, which has a picture window facing the front yard; the mini-blinds were open half way. An hour later, Dave called us outside. On his way back into the house, he spotted something that definitely was not there when he first went out - moose tracks! It appeared that our large visitor, came from across the street, through the center of our front yard, turned onto the walkway directly in front of the house, strolled down the walkway to the driveway, past my husband's truck, and into the woods. Not one of us saw it. We have dubbed our stealthy visitor Bullwinkle. We patiently await his return - eyes open, minds alert!

The crane that had visited the pond the last few years didn't show up this year, or we didn't see him. I guess if we could miss a moose, we could miss a crane. However, we had a new visitor - a wild turkey. It was about the middle of June when we spotted her. She blended in so well with the background rocks and vegetation that it sometimes required a few minutes of staring to see her. By this time, Dave was leaving cracked corn out for the ducks. At one point, the turkey ate her way almost to the back door. She returned just about every day for a few weeks. Considering that wild turkey's were at one time almost extinct in New Hampshire, she was a welcome sight.

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