Deer Print on the Pond Ice
The calendar says spring has been here but the snow on the ground and cold temperatures says different. The snow is melting in what sun we do get and the above freezing temperatures at times helps as well.
The pictures are not the greatest but wanted to show you the critters we caught hanging around the ponds and coming to get some snacks.
This past week we had some 40-degree days and plenty
Turkey near the pond
of rain so the snow is almost gone, the creeks are high and the ponds are full.
The ponds attract wildlife, in this post we are looking at the deer and turkey. Which brings to mind one of our walks a month ago we saw deer tracks on the pond, across the ice and didn’t fall through. I think that is amazing since the have small hooves which seem like they would have poked through the ice fairly easy.
With a source of water that the wildlife can come to trust will be there, it seems they are showing up more often.
Deer: Hey whats up!
Our winter was rather full of snow, with 3’ on Christmas and another 3’ by New Year’s Eve, temperatures in the teens through January and finally a warm up in February. Then another couple storms and another couple feet of snow build up, Close to the all time record of 200” for the season
Went for a walk to check the trail cam and you could see their bellies dragging in the snow so they couldn’t eat as well as they normally would. Tough digging through all that snow with the little hoofed feet.
I didn’t see any sign of turkey until we started seeing more ground and now they seem to be out every day. The more the snow melts the more they show up.
Pond life is still a little slow. The sun brought up a couple Koi in the big pond a saw one little Blue gill in the little pond that had perished. The water is still cold so the fish are vulnerable to the virus’s that happens in the pond.
Even though the fish are somewhat lethargic during the winter months and they are not eating as
Deer smiling for the camera
much. From what I understand is the slimy coat on the fish is their protective coating to keep the virus ‘s out sort of like their immune system. So for these next few weeks or couple months will be the worst for the fish. We sort of hope the pond water warms up quicker for the fish sake but, then again, algae and weeds will start growing as well. Which brings us to the last article Pond Plans for Spring.
Be sure to check the video below.
I do have another video of the deer, let me know If I should post, use the comment form below.
