4-30

4-30
The spring Violet invasion is working its way up the West River valley, both Smooth Yellow violets and Common Blue violets are starting to blossom.
Squirrel Corn is putting up a few flowers.
And the reddish-brown catkins of Sweet Gale dusted everything with golden pollen. Sweet Gale likes wet feet. Look for it on stream banks and near ponds.
John

Smooth Yellow Violet

Common Violet Violet

Squirrel Corn

Sweet Gale

4-29

4-29
Today Bumble Flower Beetles, AKA Brown Fruit Chafers (Euphoria inda) emerged. According to Kaufman's Guide to Insects of North America these beetles overwinter as adults and emerge early in the spring.
Their noisy zig-zagging low level flight patterns resembles that of Bumbles Bees and accounts for one of their common names. At this time of year they feed on nectar and pollen. Rotten fruit is their late season fare, thus their other common name of Fruit Chafer.
And an occasional Dandelion is adding its touch of sunshine to the growing fields.
John

Bumble Flower Beetle

4-28

4-28
Out in the fields Wild Strawberries are flowering.
John

4-27

4-27
Wild Ginger is opening a few of its odd, carrion colored flowers.
Also in grassy areas the first few bluets  mark the spots where dense clusters will soon paint the ground blue.
John

Bluets

Wild Ginger

4-26

4-26
The first Spring Beauties of the year are opening. A few warm days should paint the forest floor with their color.
John

4-25

4-25
The short lived pinkish spore bearing stalks of Field Horsetails are pushing up. Later in the season these structures will die back and jointed green branching stems will grow nearby.
And Gill-over-the-ground is starting to flower. Other common names for this plant are Creeping Charlie and Ground Ivy. Like most members of the mint clan it's an escape.
John

4-24

4-24
The tiny red female flowers and male catkins of American Hazelnut graced the thickets today.
The twig hugging yellow flowers of Spicebush brightened wet areas.
Blue Cohosh has opened an occasional flower.
And the frilly white flowers of Miterwort mirrored flakes of falling snow!
In the trees a Bluegray Gnatcatcher flitted from branch tip to branch tip. And Savannah Sparrows foraged along a fence row.
John

American Hazelnut

Spicebush

Blue cohosh

Miterwort

4-23

4-23
Ferns are pushing up through the leaf litter.
Elms are in flower.
And after a diligent search of optimal sites I found a Trailing Arbutus in flower. Trailing Arbutus, also known as Mayflower, stays green all winter.
John

Elm flowers

Trailing Arbutus

4-20

4-20
Today Cowslips (AKA Marsh Marigolds) added a hint of sunshine to the otherwise overcast day. cowslips are in the Buttercup family. Look for them in wet places. They usually have their feet in water.
John

4-19

4-19
The Red Maples in my neighborhood are fully in flower. On Black Mountain peepers called from a swampy area while in the old beaver pond Red-spotted Newts gorged on Wood Frog eggs. And in the woods near my house Round-leaved Yellow Violets turned their faces to the sun.
John

Red Maples

Wood Frog egg masses and Red-spotted Newts

Round-leaved Yellow Violets

4-18

4-18
Today Early Saxifrage is in flower. Also a single Red Trillium had opened as had a single Trout Lily, a single Myrtle and a single stem of Dutchman's Breeches all found in the warmest, most favorable micro-climate I know of.
The race is on for spring ephemerals that need to do their flowering and their photosynthesizing before the trees open their leaves! Trailing Arbutus is budded and Wild Ginger is pushing up leaves.
John

Early Saxifrage

Red Trillium

Trout Lily

Myrtle

Dutchman's Breeches

4-16

4-16
Daphne, a European species that has become naturalized here, is putting out a few fragrant stem hugging pinkish-purple flowers. Occasionally white flowered specimens are also found. Later in the season red or yellow berries will form.
John

4-14

4-14
Today I heard Wood Frog's "quacking" in one pond. In another pond a half dozen Painted Turtles were basking.
The first of the Hepatica in my yard opened.
And Sapsucker wells in a maple tree attracted several species of bee mimicking flower flies, Anglewinged butterflies and fireflies. I would guess there were a dozen species of insect feeding on the oozing sap.
John

Hepatica

Sapsucker wells

"beefly"

"beefly"

Anglewinged butterfly

4-13

4-13
White throated Sparrows are scratching through the hedgerows.
One of the Anglewinged butterflies was airborne, perhaps the one called "the Questionmark."
An occasional Bloodroot is open.
And the little, early spring flying moth with the intriguing common name "the Infant" was flying. The larval host for this species is birch but it will also eat willow and aspen. Look for them along gravel roads.
John

The Infant

Bloodroot

4-12

4-12
Silver Maples are starting to flower. This one was at Dummerston Landing.
There were three Bald Eagles on the Retreat Meadows, this subadult and two adults.
And a Great Blue Heron stood perfectly still with the exception of a few wind stirred plumes.
John

4-11

4-11
This morning there was a Chipping Sparrow in my yard and a Louisiana Waterthrush along a nearby stream. It was also warm enough to get a Woolly Bear caterpillar on the move although it will find precious little to eat right now.
Also it's tick season. One hitchhiked home with me today!
John

4-10

4-10
A Flicker made several visits to my suet feeder today. Flickers are ant specialists and ants are as yet in short supply!
John

4-5

4-5
This evening Woodcocks were 'peenting' enthusiastically in fields near my house despite the cold and wind.
John

4-3

4-3
Song Sparrows are carving out territories along the West River and singing their claims. And a Cooper's hawk spent the morning terrorizing Blue Jays in my yard. The jays avoided becoming hawk food but a Mourning Dove was not so lucky.
John

4-2

4-2
Birds are on the move!
Today a Fox Sparrow scratched through the leaf litter along a fence row. A Grackle fed under a neighbor's feeders. Two Phoebes hunted in a willow thicket beside the West River. A Tree Sparrow flitted overhead. A pair of Red-shouldered hawks circled over my woodlot. And hundreds of Canada Geese streamed north, many at such altitudes that they were visible only with binoculars.
It seems that spring picked up its pace today. The laggard season caught up. Last year Tree Swallows arrived in my yard on 4-4; Phoebes on 4-2!
John

4-1

4-1
Today a pair of Black Ducks dabbled happily in the West River.
And this Mourning Cloak butterfly - one of 3 I saw - battled against the wind as it crossed my field. Mourning Cloaks overwinter as adults.
The larval host plants for the species include willow and poplar. The stunning, red-blotched, spiny black caterpillars are mature in July or August.
John

Signs of Spring

As the snow melts it's easy to see that some creatures (voles?) spent the winter feasting on the bark of this cherry tree. In other signs of spring 5 raccoons cavorted in the moonlight in our backyard last night. They took turns tumbling around the lawn and climbing the dwarf cherry tree to eat the berries. Today cedar waxwings enjoy the berries while this turkey wanders by.