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Last week the ponds along the North Shore came alive with wildlife. The two small ponds next to our house appear to be frog magnets. Each spring the two varieties that come out are the spring peepers and the wood frogs. The wood frogs sing mainly during the day and our evenings are filled with the amorous calls of the male spring peepers. After hearing them for years I am still amazed at the sound that comes out of a little one and a half inch long frog. One night Karla and I stood next to the pond and the sound was so loud is almost hurt your ears. The wood ducks also show up each spring.

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We currently have about six male wood ducks competing for one female.

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It is fun to watch the males trying to woe her. It appears that she prefers one over the others and that one is never more than inches away from her when the other males are around.

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The wood duck is my favorite duck and definitely the most colorful waterfowl species in Minnesota.

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The colors are so vibrant that I never tire of watching them as they swim around the pond.

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