Spring is ... Noisy!

In upstate NY you hear spring before you see it. Sure, the red maple buds have brushed the slopes with a blush of color, and the coltsfoot is blooming yellow like a dandelion that forgot its leaves. The forsythia is almost out and the sky is blue, for brief moments.

USGS photo in public domain

But what you really notice about spring coming is the noise. It doesn't creep in on tiny cat feet. No, spring makes a splash with an evening of peeper symphonies. 

Peepers are tiny frogs, no longer than your average paper clip and maybe as wide as a kid's thumb. They're tree frogs that, this time of year, migrate to ponds in search of a mate. And that's what all the singing is about - guy peepers seeking gal peepers.

A peeper song sounds just like a chick peep, with a rise at the end. To make that sound the guy - and it is the guys who sing - takes a deep breath, closes his mouth and nostrils, and then pushes air across the vocal cords. Put a bunch of guy peepers in a pond and get 'em singing and it sounds like jingle bells - and the sound can travel far, at least half a mile.  If you don't have peepers in your neck of the woods, click here to listen.

Week 2 book winner

A lot of people entered the contest for "A Place for Fish" - thank you to all who participated. The lucky winner is Jessica, another upstate NY homeschooler who says she loves visiting the Finger Lakes. Congratulations, Jessica. And, as they say, the book's in the mail.

Celebrate Earth Day

This week I’ve been focusing on Melissa Stewart’s book, A Place for Fish. Now it’s time to take some action – and just in time, too, because it’s Earth Day.

There are plenty of things you can do to make the world better for fish, even if you don’t live close to the ocean or a lake. One of the easiest things to do is stop using plastic bags and plastic water bottles. The problem is that plastic doesn’t decompose – it stays around in the environment for hundreds of years. Some of the plastic garbage has made its way into the floating garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean. You can help fish and other sea life by using fewer plastic bags, bottles and other disposable items.

The pollution we put into the air affects our oceans and lakes. Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and even carbon dioxide can change the chemistry of water bodies, harming fish and marine creatures. We can reduce the amounts of pollution we put into the air by being more thoughtful about the energy we use. For example: walking or riding a bike instead of driving, turning off lights and TVs when you leave a room, even unplugging your laptop when you’re not using it.

You’ve probably heard that everything runs downhill. The same thing is true for water – rain falling on your street will flow into a stream that will flow into a river that will eventually end up in a lake or ocean. That means that chemicals you spray on your lawn eventually end up in water where fish live. So does oil from leaky cars. Another way you can help fish is to reduce the amount of chemicals you use on your lawn and to make sure that when you see oil leaks on the driveway you let someone know.

This Earth Day what will you do to help make the world a better place for fish?
 

Book Giveaway Reminder:

You could win your very own copy of A Place for Fish. This particular contest is limited to folks who live in the United States. Entering is simple- just send an email to: sueheaven{at}gmail{dot}com. Contest ends Sunday night April 24.