5-31 Sleepy Catchfly

5-31
The tiny flowers of Sleepy Catchfly are open. The stem of this species has a dark, sticky band, probably a defensive feature.
Fistulous Goatsbeard is lifting its head over fields and weed patches.
John

Sleepy Catchfly

Sleepy Catchfly's sticky stem

Fistulous Goatsbeard

5-30 Bristly Locust

5-30
Bristly Locust's pink pea-like flowers can be seen in roadside thickets. This species escaped from cultivation. It has also been widely used for erosion control and mine reclamation.
Hoary Allysum, a member of the mustard family, is starting to flower.
Black Medick flecks roadsides and ditches with yellow.
John

Bristly Locust

Hoary Allysum

Black Medick

5-29 Bluebirds

5-29
Our local Bluebirds have fledged their first brood but the young still expect to be fed.
The star-shaped flowers of Black Swallowwort cluster in leaf axils.
Virginia Waterleaf is at its flowering peak.
In Brattleboro, Black Locusts are dripping with white pea-like blossoms.
And in the woods the cone-like flower spikes of Oak Drops are poking up through the leaf litter.
John

Black Swallowwort

Virginia Waterleaf

Black Locust tree blossoms

Oak Drops

5-28 White Clover

5-28
White Clover is starting to flower.
The first Yellow Irises of the year are opening.
And at Townshend Dam one adult Bald Eagle and one chick were on the nest. The chick is the darker bird to the right of the tree trunk.
John

White Clover

Yellow Iris

Adult Bald Eagle and chick

5-27 Common Speedwell

5-27
Common Speedwell is in flower.
One of the Ragworts is also open. There are three other very similar ragworts.
And Flax is tipping its face to the sky. Flax seed probably arrives here  -  along with the seed of several other species - in conservation mix.
John

Common Speedwell

Ragwort

Flax

5-26 Garter Snake

5-26
A little Garter Snake blended nicely with the dead grasses and leaves - on a drier day.
Lance-leaved Violets are up. These are State listed as rare.
Deptford Pink brightens fields and weedy places.
And a close look at Red Clover shows details not normally noticed!
John

garter snake

Lance-leaved Violets

Deptford Pink

Red Clover

5-25 Grove Sandwort

5-25
Grove Sandwort's tiny white flowers dot dry grassy banks.
Bunchberry is up in damper, richer woodland sites.
Dwarf Dandelions favor thin, sandy soils - often on ledges.
And, an oddity, a 'double' Moccasin Flower. Two blossoms on one stem! A first for me!
John

Grove Sandwort

Bunchberry

Dwarf Dandelion

'Double' Moccasin Flower

5-24 Yellow Hawkweed

5-24
Common Yellow Hawkweed is starting to open flowers.
Showy Blackberry flowers and demure Raspberry flowers frost thickets.
And Blue-eyed Grass adds a bit of color to fields.
John

Yellow Hawkweed

Blackberry flowers

Raspberry flower

Blue-eyed Grass

5-23 Pineapple Weed

5-23
Pineapple-weed, so named for its odor is cropping up in waste places.
Alternate-leaved Dogwood is flowering in thickets.
The four-petaled flowers of Dame's Rocket may be purple, pink or white. Like many four-petaled flowers Dame's Rocket is a member of the mustard family.
And One-flowered Cancerroot - a parasitic species - is starting to flower. Described as being a denizen of woods and thickets, I find it in a weedy field.
John

Pineapple-weed

Alternate-leaved Dogwood

Dame's Rocket

Dame's Rocket

One-flowered Cancerroot

5-21 May Apple

5-21
May Apple flowers lurk below their umbrella-like leaves.
And a nicely marked moth, perhaps one called the Fluid Arches, was airborne last night.
John

May Apple

Fluid Arches ? moth

5-20 Bugle

5-20
The mint family escape, Bugle, is in flower. It's frequently found on lawns and along roadsides.
A Black Vulture circled with two turkey vultures along Route 30. Look for whitish wingtips and a silhouette showing very little head or tail! Black Vultures were nearly unknown in Vermont until the last decade or so but common further south. (Please pardon the fuzzy picture.)

Bugle

Black Vulture

5-19 English Plantain

5-19
English Plantain raises its head above the grass.
Wild Chervil is appearing along roadsides and Starry False Solomon's Seal - named for the shape of its flowers - is at its best.
John

English Plantain

Wild Chervil

Starry False Solomon's Seal

5-18 Lemon Plagodis moth

5-18
A colorful little moth called the Lemon Plagodis was flying last night.
Tiger Swallowtail and American Copper butterflies are on the wing today.
Azaleas are opening on riverbanks and in thickets.
And Bulbous Buttercups brighten fields and waste places.
John

Lemon Plagodis moth

Tiger Swallowtail butterfly

American Copper butterfly

Azalea

Bulbous Buttercup

5-17 Moccasin Flower

5-17
A diligent roadside search was required before I found a few Moccasin Flowers in bloom today. A week from now they'll be easy to find.
On top of Black Mountain, Black Chokeberry was the common flowering shrub. A close relative, Purple Chokecherry, favor shores and other wet areas.
And the nicely marked Common spring moth was active - and easily photographed!
John

Moccasin Flower

Black Chokecherry

Common Spring moth

5-16 Starflower

5-16
The aptly named Starflower is opening an occasional blossom. Soon the forest floor will be dotted with them.
John

5-15 Wild Madder

5-15
Wild Madder is starting to flower.
Although somewhat bedraggled by wind and rain, White Campion graces warmer locales.
And Common Cinquefoil, the earliest of several cinquefoils in our area started opening flowers this afternoon.
John

Wild Madder

White Campion

Common Cinquefoil