New Neighbors?

I've neglected blogging for way too long, and as commitments seem to be lightening up a bit (where a bit equals a really tiny, minuscule amount) I'm going to try and update the past two months over the next week or so. Note that I'm actually writing this in mid-May. In any event, don't adjust your computer's date/time, I'm just back-dating posts so they fall in chronological order.

So, cast your minds back to the 13th of April. Here in the Southern Tier we got hit with snow. Not unexpected, and happily it didn't last long. Because of, or in spite of, the downturn in the weather we observed a couple of new species for the year, bringing the year list to 101. First, a Chipping Sparrow arrived at the feeders along with the usual suspects, and late in the evening a Great Horned Owl was calling from "over yonder" (my new way of saying, "somewhere not too close").

A male Wood Duck patrols the neighborhood. Hopefully he'll find it safe.

Even more interesting was a visit by some prospective neighbors. A trio of Wood Ducks were on our pond when we awoke, and like nosy neighbors everywhere we peered between closed curtains to assess these newbies. Would they fit in? Were they our kind of people? Any kids that could babysit, or arrange a play date? Any power tools we could borrow? Yes, yes, no, and no.

A male and female confer under the shelter of the well-weathered dock.

Obviously, the big questions were whether they'd put in an offer and would we accept. We probably would, once their credit checked out, so the ball is in their court. Incidentally, they're right on time. Wood Ducks appear on our pond between the last week of March and and the last week of April, so they hit right in peak season. Stay tuned to find out whether this was their dream home.