Pond Surprise!

Spring has sprung...for about a month,but things are really starting to pop now after plenty of rain, we now have lots of sun and temperatures around 70.  I have been taking the usual photographs of wildflowers and birds (but not posting them, unfortunately).  The bluebirds' eggs have likely hatched--I saw the female out...but have not yet checked the nestbox.  Tree swallows have returned...and the chickadees are taking nesting materials into their chosen box.  Birds abound...and I am enjoying taking shots of them in nature, not just coming near the house for sunflower seeds.

Being home, I have walked my trails most days...I jump from project to project...and now regular maintenance like mowing.  I visit the pond, or, at least, walk past it a few times a day.  The frogs still get startled and dive underwater.

Today, I was standing on the lower edge where I am closer to the water's surface...when I saw them.  At first,I assumed they were tadpoles, even though my mind immediately told me they were fish.  I didn't want to get my hopes up.

Fish fry...babies.  I was shocked, but thrilled to see them.  Now, where did they come from...and what kind are they?  The most likely answer is they are descendants of the minnows I put in that I purchased from a bait shop.  I was almost certain they all had died over the first two or three days after I put them in.  I did acclimate them first...but I figured they were for bait and were likely not very hardy having been raised crowded together (yet with plenty of oxygenated water)...or, my water did not have high enough oxygen for them despite the recirculating pump.  I counted the bodies floating to the surface...and I guess it is possible that 2 or even a few survived.   This seems most likely.  The other possibility is that they were brought here as eggs stalk to a bird visiting another pond.

Time will tell if they mature, and I can identify them.  Hopefully, I have a record of the fish I added.

I had wanted black-nosed dace which my dentist recommended, but the bait shop didnt carry them.  When the quarantine is lifted, and social distancing is no longer an issue, my dentist is supposed to share some black-nosed dace and some bluegills with me (I guess he never got around to it last year).

Originally, I didnt plan on adding fish, but I have always loved watching them ate the various bodies of water I have visited where I could see them.  They provide so much added interest...and another step in the food web--if they attract king fishers and/or herons, so be it.   When digging out the pond, I created a ledge or two for fish to hide and evade predators.   I just hope there can be a balance.

I am thrilled to have them.  I hope I can watch them grow...and hope they will be self-sustaining.

And, the obligatory frog picture.  :)