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Photo by Sparky Stensaas / www.stoneridgepress.com
The Return of the Queen
April, the thawing month, means the beginning of much activity with local birds. As the snow recedes early in the month, we look for flocks of robins in the lawn, Hermit Thrushes in the woods and large numbers of juncos along the roadsides. By mid month, the Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers drum in the early morning, Yellow-rumped Warblers flit in the tree tops and snipe and yellowlegs walk at the edge of the rushing streams. Late in this month as the lakes open, loons arrive and proclaim their ownership while the noisy Ruby-crowned Kinglets actively call in the nearby woods. Other vocalists can be heard here too. The early-rising trio of frogs: Spring Peepers, Chorus Frogs and Wood Frogs call in the surrounding wetlands.
Birding walks on these spring days reveal much more too. In the sunlit woods, not yet shaded by the foliage of May, we find early wild flowers. The hepatica is consistently the first one that I find in early April. My earliest record was April 2, 2000. Unlike most of the forest flowers at this time, hepatica keeps its leaves all winter and so has a head start on the others. Following close behind are Bloodroot (earliest; April 13) and Spring Beauty (earliest also April 13). Both grow, bloom fast and fade late in the summer. By months end, we may also see a few anemones and Marsh Marigolds blooming. Overhead, the trees hold flowers of their own. Not very showy, they grow male and female parts; often separate. Long catkins are filled with pollen at this time.
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