Goose Pond Mountain, 01 and 02 May, 2007

Kat reflects on two days at Goose Pond Mountain...

There are few things I like more than lying in my bed and listening to the sounds of spring. The chirps and trills of red-winged blackbirds; the chorus of spring peepers, toads, and wood frogs; the mockingbirds singing even after the sun goes down give me a warm fuzzy feeling deep inside. This feeling must be innate; my toddlers have barely experienced these sounds, yet they seem to respond to them in much the same way as me. The arrival of spring makes everyone feel giddy... mammal, amphibian, reptile and bird alike... and that giddy feeling must be contagious. Love is surely in the air, for I have never seen so much hand-holding, hugging, and smiling!

Laurel and I have been making regular visits to the Goose Pond Mountain Created Wetlands boardwalk with our children, and watching them happily run along only adds to our joy. For the past two days we have enjoyed seeing the landscape change as the temperature warms and the sun shines longer. We have watched the American Toad tadpoles grow and develop; today, they were furiously swimming in the first pond, exploring their birthplace. We were able to see the Dutchman's breeches, bloodroot, and trout lilies bloom, and later took turns photographing them in the construction area just before the turn-off into Goose Pond. We saw the arrival of a Great Egret and a Yellow Warbler in the phragmites in the ponds, and welcomed the now typical sight of the Northern Watersnake basking on vegetation. Dragonflies and damselflies buzzed past us as we walked today, and the American Kestrel we had seen here earlier made a fleeting appearance to Laurel. The nesting pair of Canada Geese were still there, and when their goslings hatch we'll be there to witness this, too. Butterflies will be coming soon, and now that Lily and Penelope have learned to point excitedly to them as they flutter along, we'll be bringing our nets to catch them. After a stroll along our favorite circular path (with various permutations of toddlers in the stroller and/or on the path), we decided to call it quits and head home for dinner.

The best part of the day was yet to happen; in fact, it occurred when we were already in our cars and on our way home. Laurel pulled out before me, and so I was behind her car as we left. Just past the traffic light at the construction zone, she signaled left and pulled into the dirt and gravel turn-around we had used the day before to get pictures of wildflowers. Thinking she wanted more wildflower photos, I followed her so as to sit with her car while she snapped pictures. Pulling behind her I noticed she was frantically gesturing for me to pull up to her car. I did so, rolling down my window to hear her exclaim, "Did you see that piebald deer in the woods?" My heart skipped a beat... I had read about piebald deer in our area, but had never seen one. Piebald deer have varied white coloration in addition to the typical brown color of deer, and are exceedingly uncommon. "No! Where is it?" I shouted, and she pulled out onto the road, saying, "Up on the right! Follow me!" I pulled out behind her and as she slowed to the area where she spotted the deer, I put on my hazards and slowed down, too. Looking up on the hill to the right I spotted it... a mostly white deer. I immediately pulled over and rolled down my windows, grabbing my camera (which thankfully had a fresh battery and the telephoto lens already attached). The piebald deer was grazing along the hillside in the woods, and it stopped and looked at me briefly as I began taking pictures. After realizing I wasn't a threat, it returned to grazing, and I continued to photograph it. At this point I realized that Laurel had overshot the deer, and was turning around to come back for a better look. I continued firing off exposures, wondering if this piebald deer also exhibited some of the other abnormalities often associated with piebald deer: short legs, malformed hooves, arched back, short and wide snout. I figured I would have to check the pictures of the piebald against pictures of typical deer to see. I looked over to Laurel's car to make sure she was able to see the deer, and out of the corner of my eye I saw another white patch: another piebald deer! Laurel saw it, too, flashing me the "number 2" sign. I photographed this one as well, which seemed larger that the first. Perhaps this was the doe, and the first individual was her fawn. I noticed that the fur on the second deer was patchy and had been lost in some spots on her flank. I thought this was curious. Determined to get a picture of both deer in the same frame, I waited patiently; Lily, however, was not as patient. It was dinner time, and she was beginning to get hungry. She started to complain from her spot in the back, and, thankfully, I took a few more photographs (including the one I wanted), and my CF card was full. Laurel and her kids, too, seemed to be "full" of this sighting, and we both pulled out onto the road and headed towards home.