A Look at the Season's Main Events
By Virginia Barlow
March
Ravens nest on sunny, south facing ledges, well away from human intruders / Most of last year’s cattails have broken off, adding material to the soil at their feet / Gray jays are nesting. Perhaps they nest early so that they can spend time caching the large amount of food needed for next winter. Leftovers from last year’s larder may go to the new family / Skunk cabbage is flowering in swamps. In southern New England, it may have been up since January
“When the wind is from the north and west, that’s when sugaring is the best.” / The starlings now searching for weak points in the eaves are great mimics. Their song often includes comically mismatched phrases / Short tailed weasels show brown around the eyes and mouth as their winter pelage turns from white to summer brown / Cooper’s hawks begin to return to their nesting areas. Still somewhat scarce, they were common before DDT reduced the population
Juncos are trilling / Listen near ponds for the duck-like calls of wood frogs. Well adapted to cold, they are usually the first frogs to be heard / Migrating: red shouldered hawks, peregrine falcons, great blue herons / As soon as the ground thaws, woodcocks will return to probe for worms, which account for about 90 percent of their diet / Pairs of hooded mergansers are working their way north, diving for minnows in ponds and in the quieter parts of rivers
Migrating American kestrels return and will soon be looking for nest holes. Cavities excavated by flickers are popular / The severity of apple scab infections over the summer can be reduced by raking up and removing last year’s fallen leaves / Hungry woodchucks are seeking out green grass / Male phoebes return, about a week before the females. Before most insects are flying everywhere, they feed on stoneflies over streams and search out warm microclimates
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These listing are from observations and reports in our home territory at about 1,000 feet in elevation in central Vermont and are approximate. Events may occur earlier or later, depending on you latitude, elevation - and the weather.
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© 2006 by the author; this article may not be copied or reproduced without the author's consent.
