With what appears to be a great relief for many in our region, April, the thawing month, is upon us. Birders get out frequently to check for Red-winged Blackbirds at a nearby swamp and woodcocks in their favorite staging areas. Out in the rivers, as the ice breaks up, we’ll see early ducks, geese, swans and perhaps a heron. As the month continues to open, the first robins and their cousins, the bluebirds and Hermit Thrushes will appear in the yards and we pick up the telltale calls of early Yellow-rumped Warblers and phoebes; while the long-winded songs from two tiny songsters, Winter Wrens and Ruby-crowned Kinglets add more to the season.

 But among the bird movement, other things spring into action as well. Chipmunks wake and we see them as they groggily have a snack. Perhaps a Garter Snake or Mourning Cloak butterfly will bask in vernal solar sites after long winter naps. Queen Bumble Bees and Bald-faced Hornets crawl out of their log shelters to begin the new colonies for another year. At sunlit warm sites, often along buildings, the snow pulls back to give a place for the early Crocuses and Dandelions to bloom.

Read the rest of the Larry's column in our April issue...