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May is all about eggs.
Bird eggs.
Frog eggs.
Fish eggs.
You name it, if there’s a shell and a yolk, or a yolk sac in the case of fish, it can be found in May.
I’ve been seeing evidence every day. Bits of shell from barn swallow eggs – white with a brown splatter pattern, litter the ground in an old shed that the birds have inhabited. Outside, one of the true signs of spring – blue shells from robin eggs, can be found under trees, eaves or anywhere else they choose to build a nest.
As May progresses I find more and more eggshells scattered on the ground, and many times, most of those shells are intact aside from neatly cracked hole that the hatchling expertly pecked to gain access to its new world.
One of the things that impresses me most about bird eggs is their artistic qualities. When it comes to many wild birds, their eggs are usually nothing like the bland white chicken eggs found in the store.
Wild bird eggs are an array of colors and patterns. Kestrels lay smooth, cream-colored eggs accented by a few brown spots. A red-winged blackbird – one of my favorite farmland birds, produces an egg that is a deep gray with dark brown markings. The eggs of a northern mockingbird appear to be painted with a dull white base and rust-colored splotches covering the entire shell. A pheasant produces a nest of drab brown eggs that conceal perfectly beneath the tall grass.
And, of course, the eggs of an Eastern bluebird are a pale blue.
But when it comes to eggs in the spring, birds don’t have exclusive rights. And not everything relies on the standard hard shell and yolk.
Frog eggs are protected by a gelatinous mass that floats gently in a vernal pool or seasonal puddle. Spotted salamanders, for example, can deposit up to 200 eggs in a single mass, and they prefer vernal pools because the water dries up in the summer making the aquatic habitat unsuitable for fish, which can prey on the eggs.
Fish eggs are unique in their own right, and during the spring, nests constructed by bluegills along the edges of ponds are a common sight. Bluegill eggs are deposited in the bottom of the nest and a rubbery “shell” allows them to bounce easily on the gravel, protecting the embryos.
Like frogs, spotted salamanders protect their eggs inside a soft, goo-like mass. The round, black larvae resemble a conglomeration of eyeballs within the mass.
But the miniature larvae don’t stay that way for long. After passing through the juvenile stage, the young spotted salamanders grow into adults that can reach nearly 10 inches in length.
When it comes to laying eggs in water, a hard shell isn’t necessary.
But what about those creatures who reside in water but lay their eggs on land?
Every year in late May I come across a snapping turtle making the vital trek from water to land where it digs a nest to lay its eggs. They prefer sand or gravel, and I’ve often seen female snapping turtles make their nests in the loose stones along the edge of a busy road.
Around the end of July the eggs hatch, and the delicate turtles – miniature versions of the enormous adults, make the slow journey back to an aquatic habitat.
As May transitions into June, young wildlife dominate the scene. Juvenile birds learning to fly, fish fry taking refuge along the edge of a pond with tadpoles and polliwogs, and clutches of turkey poults following a hen through the forest.
For all of these species, the newborn represent the future.
And it all starts with a simple egg.