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Grant · 04-25-2005, 01:01 PM

Yeah, we have the chipmunks.

But, of greater concern, where have all the toads and frogs gone? When I was a kid, not a day would go by when you wouldn't see MULTIPLE toads along the path, along the road, etc. And the little creek that fed into the cove at Wawbeek was loaded with green frogs and leopard frogs -- you could always find them there. These days -- none of either are to be found.

Am I showing my age? I still consider myself young @ 43...

Down here where I spend the rest of my time, we used to have a HUGE population of ring-neck pheasants. Granted, they are not a native North American species, but are from Asia. But they flourished in the US for many years -- probably first introduced by hunting organizations many, many years ago (much like the populations of Euro wild boar that found in -- get this -- pockets of New Hampshire and North Carolina). I thought of the pheasants because I spotted one along the road on Saturday. When I was a kid, we saw them every day all around our house. You couldn't walk across the fields without flushing a few out (and having the you-know-what scared right out of you). Theories on their demise ranged from increased predator populations (hawks, coyotes, etc.) to the Avian Flu that killed so many chickens in the 70s-80s. Could the chipmunk thing be a reflection of the burgeoning coyote population in NH? We have chipmunks down here, and I notice them in spurts -- mainly due, I guess, to the presence/absence of stray cats and the like.

04-25-2005, 01:01 PM	#2
Grant Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Pennsyltuckey, Tuftonboro, Moultonborough Posts: 1,485 Thanks: 337 Thanked 212 Times in 116 Posts	Chipmunks, Frogs, Toads... Yeah, we have the chipmunks. But, of greater concern, where have all the toads and frogs gone? When I was a kid, not a day would go by when you wouldn't see MULTIPLE toads along the path, along the road, etc. And the little creek that fed into the cove at Wawbeek was loaded with green frogs and leopard frogs -- you could always find them there. These days -- none of either are to be found. Am I showing my age? I still consider myself young @ 43... Down here where I spend the rest of my time, we used to have a HUGE population of ring-neck pheasants. Granted, they are not a native North American species, but are from Asia. But they flourished in the US for many years -- probably first introduced by hunting organizations many, many years ago (much like the populations of Euro wild boar that found in -- get this -- pockets of New Hampshire and North Carolina). I thought of the pheasants because I spotted one along the road on Saturday. When I was a kid, we saw them every day all around our house. You couldn't walk across the fields without flushing a few out (and having the you-know-what scared right out of you). Theories on their demise ranged from increased predator populations (hawks, coyotes, etc.) to the Avian Flu that killed so many chickens in the 70s-80s. Could the chipmunk thing be a reflection of the burgeoning coyote population in NH? We have chipmunks down here, and I notice them in spurts -- mainly due, I guess, to the presence/absence of stray cats and the like. __________________ "When I die, please don't let my wife sell my dive gear for what I told her I paid for it."