There are two small ponds on my property in east Spalding County and I try to make them as wildlife friendly as possible. Both have wood duck nesting boxes and floating goose nest platforms on them. The ducks and geese seem to like them.

Last year a pair of geese raised a couple of goslings on one pond and one of them stayed after the others left. It still hangs around with a female mallard duck. They have been inseparable all year. I really thought the goose would take up with other geese when they came back to nest, but it has not. I call them the odd couple.

Geese checked out both ponds and a pair nested on the lower one about a month ago. About a week later a pair nested on the upper pond, too. A week ago the eggs hatched on the lower pond and I saw the pair of adult geese with five little yellow puffballs following them around.

The next day no geese were on the lower pond, but when I went to the upper pond the pair had moved up there with their five little ones. They had moved about 100 yards through the woods, swimming in the little creek and walking around brush jams and up the dam. For several days they moved back and forth between the ponds.

I saw them several days in a row, then one day there was only one gosling left. I guess a hawk, snake, weasel, raccoon, turtle or some other critter had a meal of four little geese. The pair still moves back and forth between the two ponds with just the one left. It has doubled in size in a week.

When they are on the upper pond it gets funny. The odd couple is there as is the pair nesting on the platform. When one of the pair with the little one gets near, or one of the odd couple approaches the nest, the male tries to chase them off while the female stays on the nest.

I never realized Canada geese could swim underwater until I watched one last week. The goose of the odd couple got too close to the nest and the male attacked him. He would dive under, swim about 15 feet them pop back up. That did not stop the attacking goose and I saw the one fleeing swim underwater three different times.

Also, the pair with the little one got too close to the edge of the water and my dog Rip took off after them. The gosling dove and swam out of sight under water half way across the pond. That is a good escape tactic but I did not know geese could do that.

It is fun watching the geese, especially the little one, try to get near enough to eat the fish food I throw out without getting too close. The little one will head toward me and the parents will be right behind it, making noises that I take to be saying “Be careful, don’t get too close!”

The eggs in the nest the one is still siting on should hatch soon. It takes about three weeks for the eggs to hatch. I am not sure they will hatch since there was one egg in that nest that was abandoned. I hope she is not sitting on that bad egg.

Baby birds of all kinds are hatching right now. I remember many times while I was growing up watching nest, counting the eggs and learning the different colors and numbers of eggs birds laid. All too often I would find a baby bird on the ground and try to feed it and keep it alive. Earthworms were easy to get and I fed them all they wanted, but all of the baby birds died within a day or so.

Some baby birds abandon the nest immediately and are able to move around. Ducks and geese can swim almost immediately after hatching. Last year wood ducks hatched on both ponds and soon got together. I would see an adult with 10 or 11 little ones behind it. I guess it was the baby-sitter.

I have read that some kinds of woodpecker chicks leave the nest immediately after hatching. The nest smells and attracts predators that would eat them, so they leave and hop out on branches or go to the ground where the mother keeps them fed.

Birds and they ways of nesting and raising young are amazing. The great variety of ways they nest, from hollow trees to small depressions on the ground to the familiar twig and stick nest in bushes and trees is fun to study. Some, like hummingbird nest, are unbelievable.

Watch for nesting birds. Enjoy them without disturbing them. They can entertain and amaze you.

I have 75 acres of land in east Spalding County that is my little piece of heaven on earth. It is mostly wooded with two small ponds and a two acre field, and I have seen deer, turkey, squirrels, geese, ducks, raccoons, possums, fox, coyotes, beaver, otters and muskrats there. The ponds have bass, bream, catfish and shiners in them.

When I bought the land in 1999 I knew little about managing it, so I contacted the Georgia Forestry Commission here. Through them I had a Forest Stewardship Plan written. It gives me guidelines on everything from productive timber practices to pond management.

To start the plan I had to fill out an application and list my priorities for the property. I chose wildlife, soil and water, timber, recreation and aesthetics, in that order, as my management goals for the property. The plan would be developed around those goals.

To set the plans, my property was visited by the Management Forester and District Stewardship Forester from the Georgia Forestry Commission, a wildlife biologist from the Department of Natural Resources, the District Conservationist from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and someone from the Soil and Water Management Service.

Along with topographic maps showing soil types, vegetation types and contours, I received written information about these subjects. These maps would help with tree and soil management, and instructions were given for avoiding problems like erosion around creeks. There was also information about endangered and threatened species that might be found there.

A section discusses both ponds in detail and suggests how to keep them in good shape. One is very old and there is not much that can be done for it since there are big trees on the dam and it could leak at any time. I did have the water tested in both and got liming and fertilization guidelines from the local County Extension Service.

The notebook prepared for me had several hundred pages of information, including practices to improve the land for wildlife. Sizes and types of food plots were suggested as were tips on controlled burning, thinning trees and planting fruit and nut trees for forage.

I have followed most of the guidelines and they seem to be working well, with one exception. I was supposed to do a controlled burn on about 1/3 of the property each year in a three year rotation. Controlled burns help wildlife as well as improve timber growth.

A little over a year ago, just before the burn ban went into effect, I had scheduled a burn for about 10 acres. The Forestry Commission technician arrived that morning and warned me the humidity was very low, but I insisted we go ahead and burn anyway. He unloaded his bulldozer and plowed a fire break, and we started the burn.

As warned, the fire got way too hot and most of the pines lost their needles in the next few weeks. But within days they has put out new needles and looked good. Unfortunately, during the winter I found pine beetle damage and had to clear-cut the area to stop them. I was going to end up with no trees anyway, so I might as well get some money for them.

After the timber company finished I waited until just before the burn ban went into effect the beginning of this month and burned off all the residue left. I waited as long as possible to let it dry as much as possible, and it worked. I guess fire and me just don’t get along. The fire burned way more than expected, moving across what looked like bare ground to me, and I had to call for help to stop it before it got into the woods.

Right now the place looks bad, but I will plan pines there and will have a new stand of trees growing soon. Again, the Georgia Forestry Commission people helped me with what I needed to do and even provided some grants for planting some kinds of pine trees.

As the weeds, grasses, briars and other plants grow in the cleared land, deer and other wildlife will find it a great place to live. I will add food plots in the cleared area so there will be plenty for them to eat as well as good cover. I expect to have an abundance of deer for the next few years.

If you have land and want to manage it wisely, contact the Georgia Forestry Commission. They can help you be a good conservationist, managing your resources and using them wisely.