Caption Contest #18 Winner!

It's time to announce the winner of the Bill of the Birds Caption Contest #18. You can see the original post for Contest #18 here.

Congratulations to Robert Mortensen from the Birding is Fun blog for his winning caption which is:

On the eve of their nuptials, Prince William and Kate Middleton kissed and they both turned into toads. A very public couple, regrettably with no modicum of privacy, British paparazzi photographed them consummating the marriage.

He also chimed in with this one:

The minister said not to do this before marriage or we'd get warts. I guess he was right!

Robert wins a $20 gift certificate from the BWD Nature Store.

Some other great chuckles were generated by these contributors:

Face said...

Ribbit to me one more time, once is never enough for a frog like you...

tommyart said...

I knew we should of done this back at my pad.

CNemes said...

Not tonight, dear, I've got a frog in my throat.

pambirds said...

“It’s okay Trudy, no one will see us – they’re all looking up for the warblers.”

Thanks to everyone for playing!

Caption Contest #18

I toad you we weren't done with the Bill of the Birds Caption Contests! Here's the latest. Send in your clever caption for this photograph (keeping your cleverness on the clean side of the NC-17 line). Our panel of ninja-like judges will select a winner and that winner will receive a coupon code good for $20 in the BWD Online Nature Shop. Deadline for your caption that trumps all captions is Thursday, April 28.

Good luck! Gentlepeople start your captions!

Spring's Eternal Hope

The first robin of spring!

Everyone, it seems, has been waiting for spring to finally, well, spring. Here in SE Ohio it finally did today with a bunch of obvious signs. First, there was the mythical First Robin of Spring! We have robins all winter long flying over the farm and in our woods. But that does not stop us from gushing and pointing and proclaiming the arrival of TFROS.

Colt's foot (Tussilago farfara)

Colt's foot has been in bloom for about 10 days and is now starting to go to seed. This hearty wildflower grows along roadsides and seems to thrive in areas of disturbed soil. It comes up in early spring without fail, just when you think you'll never see another blooming flower ever again.That high-pitched whining sound you're hearing at night from the roadside ditch is the love song of the American toad. The male toad trills away on warm, wet evenings, hoping to lure a female into range so he can jump on her back, fertilize her eggs, and make more little toads. These toads, captured en flagrante, are temporary residents of our backyard pond. Once the deed is done, they'll head back to the woods where they live, hoping to avoid broad-winged hawks by day and barred owls by night.

I, for one, am glad the wait for spring is over. Now I must steel myself for the warm weather ahead and for all the delectable birds that will be riding in from the south on the warm fronts.