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May 18th, 2023 Reader Photo Gallery

April 2023

Readers shared a bumper crop of images for the April gallery, resulting in some difficult choices for the editors! Your photos included early spring wildflowers, amphibian eggs, waterfalls, and early birds including bluebird pairs and strutting Tom turkeys. In Charlotte, Vermont, Mary Landon discovered a basking Dekay’s brownsnake – a common but hard-to-see species that is (for a snake) especially cold tolerant. Continuing with the reptile encounter theme, in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, Richard Philben met a snapping turtle en route to a pond. Check out Frank Kaczmarek’s photo of a ground nesting bee mating “brawl,” and John Hanlon’s photo of great horned owls occupying a former osprey nest site.

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This gallery is made possible through generous support from the Larsen Fund.

Gray comma Photo: Sandy Dannis
Dalton, NH. “Gray Comma (Polygon progne) suns on the forest floor.” | Photo: Sandy Dannis
Trillium teratologic Photo: Dave Spier
Manchester, NY. “Great white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), unusual in having green and white petals.” | Photo: Dave Spier
Horned owlets Photo: Deborah DeSalvo
Oldwick, NJ. “Great horned owl and owlets.” | Photo: Deborah DeSalvo
Tom turkeys Photo: Tom Harris
Plymouth, VT. “Three Toms strutting April 3.” | Photo: Tom Harris
Bear print Photo: Jill DeVito
Rockingham, VT. “Awake and hungry! Black bear track (photo captured April 4).” | Photo: Jill DeVito
Spring colors Photo: Ken Hatch
Bethel, VT. “Spring colors in Bethel, Vermont. Fall is not the only time to see beautifully colored forested hillsides in New England.” | Photo: Ken Hatch
Willows Photo: Louanne Nielsen
Hinesburg, VT. “Willow near the shore of Lake Iroquois.” | Photo: Louanne Nielsen
River otters Photo: Kirk Gentalen
Tenants Harbor, ME. “River otters, sniffing...” | Photo: Kirk Gentalen
Eagle parent Photo: Charlie Schwarz
Ulster, PA. “A fish dinner for young bald eagles.” | Photo: Charlie Schwarz
Egg clusters Photo: Karinne Heise
Warner, NH. “Clusters of amphibian eggs in a vernal pool.” | Photo: Karinne Heise
Trout lily Photo: Meaghan Winders
Campton, NH. “Morning dew on a trout lily leaf.” | Photo: Meaghan Winders
Salamander eggs Photo: Susan Lichty
Acworth, NH. “Spotted salamander eggs.” | Photo: Susan Lichty
Geese Photo: Abigail Brennan
Rumney, NH. “Two geese hunting for food underwater.” | Photo: Abigail Brennan
Turtle Photo: Richard Philben
Shelburne Falls, MA. “I met my neighbor trying to reach the small pond in the front yard at Wheel View Farm.” | Photo: Richard Philben
Forest bloom Photo: Sharon Bombard
Lenox, MA. “Bloom where you are planted.” | Photo: Sharon Bombard
Fox survival Photo: Gary Bannister
Mendon, VT. “Fox with kits’ next meal.” | Photo: Gary Bannister
Icnumen wasp Photo: Brian Athorp
Amherst, ME. “Ichneumon wasp.” This female giant ichneumon wasp can insert her spiky ovipositor deep into wood, in order to lay eggs in the larvae of pigeon tremex horntail wasps. | Photo: Brian Athorp
Painted turtles Photo: Tom Grett
Lancaster, PA. “Painted turtles basking in the morning sun.” The floating plants around them are duckweed. | Photo: Tom Grett
Tiny ecosystem Photo: Kelly Stettner
Springfield, VT. “Anybody home? My daughter discovered a tiny ecosystem flourishing inside an old beer bottle she’d picked up on a visit to Muckross State Park.” | Photo: Kelly Stettner
Archiearis infans Photo: Barry Wicklow
Francestown, NH. “The Infant, Archiearis infans, is a small, day flying, butterfly-looking, moth. Adults are one of the earliest to emerge from pupae in the spring. The name infans refers to the first born. In the photo the moth is sipping water from melting snow.” | Photo: Barry Wicklow
Bluebirds Photo: Ross Lanius
North Haven, CT. “Mom and dad bluebird perched on a bird box. It paid to clean the used nest out this past winter. They have claimed it for raising their brood this season.” | Photo: Ross Lanius
Spring ferns Photo: Marcy Stanton
Lyndeborough, NH. “Ferns beginning to unfurl.” | Photo: Marcy Stanton
Grosbeak Photo: Cynthia Crawford
Norwich, VT. “Evening grosbeak.” | Photo: Cynthia Crawford
Tucker Brook Falls Photo: Christy Butler
Milford, NH. Tucker Brook Falls in Tucker Brook Town Forest. | Photo: Christy Butler
Blood root Photo: Dave Spier
Newark, NY. “Backlit bloodroot unfolding in the late afternoon sun at the base of a wooded hillside.” | Photo: Dave Spier
Moose Photo: Evelyn Tully Costa
Mount Holly, VT. “Young spring visitor!” | Photo: Evelyn Tully Costa
Bees Photo: Frank Kaczmarek
Lyman, NH. “What looks like a street brawl is actually the mating behavior of the ground nesting bee, Colletes inaequalis, one of many important pollinators in the region.” | Photo: Frank Kaczmarek
Dandelions Photo: Prudence Wholey
Shelburne, MA. “Dandelion providing a snack today.” | Photo: Prudence Wholey
Fox nap Photo: Glenn Foster
Penobsquis, NB. “Red fox sunning on round bales.” | Photo: Glenn Foster
Assassin bug Photo: Ken Hatch
Plainfield, NH. “Pale green assassin bug with a victim on Dutchman’s breeches.” | Photo: Ken Hatch
Song sparrow Photo: Ross Lanius
New Haven, CT. “While sitting in the Quinnipiac Meadows Nature Preserve waiting for osprey to return to their platform nest, I was serenaded by this song sparrow in the top of a red cedar. It flew away several times but returned to continue singing.” | Photo: Ross Lanius
Black alder catkins Photo: Susan Lichty
Lempster, NH. A macro shot of black alder catkins, which the photographer discovered next to a stream. | Photo: Susan Lichty
Purple trillium Photo: Charlie Schwarz
Loyalsockville, PA. “The white version of the quite common purple trillium.” | Photo: Charlie Schwarz
Mallard moon Photo: Andrei Burnin
Lyme, NH. “Mallard ducks and the moon.” | Photo: Andrei Burnin
Frog eggs Photo: Kirk Gentalen
Tenants Harbor, ME. “Wood frog eggs, day two.” | Photo: Kirk Gentalen
Fairy home Photo: Nancy Halloran
Exeter, NH. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to build this fairy home in the woods.” | Photo: Nancy Halloran
Sunset Photo: Jen Weimer
Nottingham, NH. “Sunset at Pawtuckaway State Park.” | Photo: Jen Weimer
Red squirrel Photo: Sheri Larsen
Essex Town, VT. This red squirrel “was staring at something on the other side of a log. [It] was so focused on what was in front of it that it didn't notice me taking a photo.” | Photo: Sheri Larsen
Hepatica Photo: Judy Sweet
Conway, MA. “First glimpse of blooming hepatica on April 15th.” | Photo: Judy Sweet
Red trillium Photo: Marcy Stanton
Lyndeborough, NH. “Red trillium.” | Photo: Marcy Stanton
Spring teeth Photo: Meaghan Winders
Tamworth, NH. “Spring (tooth) cleaning.” | Photo: Meaghan Winders
Hooded merganser Photo: Karinne Heise
Warner, NH. “A hooded merganser swimming in a beaver pond.” | Photo: Karinne Heise
Snake Photo: Mary S. Landon
Charlotte, VT. “This Dekay’s brownsnake was sunning itself on the trail at the Charlotte Wildlife Refuge.” | Photo: Mary S. Landon
Evening grosbeak Photo: Peter Hollinger
Sharon, VT. “Female evening grosbeak in the rain.” | Photo: Peter Hollinger
Painted turtles Photo: Richard Philben
Natick, MA. Basking painted turtles. “I spotted these critters while on my first kayak trip of the new season while paddling down the Charles River.” | Photo: Richard Philben
Pine warbler Photo: Barry Wicklow
Francestown, NH. “This pine warbler was eating sunflower seeds at our feeder.” As noted by Cornell’s All About Birds profiles, pine warblers are the only warblers that eat large quantities of seeds. | Photo: Barry Wicklow
Brain mushroom Photo: Frank Kaczmarek
Lincoln, NH. “Fruiting bodies of the red brain tree fungus, Peniophora rufa.” | Photo: Frank Kaczmarek
Senter falls Photo: Christy Butler
Lyndeborough, NH. “Senter Falls on Cold Brook. Delightful series of several small falls and cascades.” | Photo: Christy Butler
Maple root burl Photo: Collin Miller
Downsville, NY. “First red eft discovery of the season; located in a red maple root burl.” | Photo: Collin Miller
Erythronium americanum Photo: Gary Samuels
Deering, NH. “Trout lily, an early spring flower that is found in deciduous woodlands. It scavenges phosphorous from spring rain runoff.” | Photo: Gary Samuels
Muskrat Photo: Andrei Burnin
Lyme, NH. “Muskrat at Grant Brook.” | Photo: Andrei Burnin
Squirrel corn Photo: Sandy Dannis
Dalton, NH. “Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis) greenery pushes through the leaf litter next to Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginiana) in a mesic forest.” | Photo: Sandy Dannis
Bluebird Photo: Scotty Gladstone
East Meredith, NY. “Male bluebird guards the house.” | Photo: Scotty Gladstone
Deer Photo: Scotty Gladstone
Ashland, ME. “Heading out for spring breakup.” | Photo: Scotty Gladstone
Skunk cabbage Photo: Susan E. March
Marcellus, NY. “Skunk cabbage emerges through the moss.” | Photo: Susan E. March
Nature reflection Photo: Theo Wallach
Holderness, NH. “Reflection of a hill.” | Photo: Theo Wallach
Salamander spermatophore Photo: Kirk Gentalen
Tenants Harbor, ME. “Spotted salamander spermatophore.” | Photo: Kirk Gentalen
White throated sparrow Photo: Sheri Larsen
Essex Town, VT. “White-throated Sparrows are always a sign that spring has arrived!” | Photo: Sheri Larsen
Snail Photo: Scott Wasserman
Putney, VT. “A snail in my garden.” | Photo: Scott Wasserman
Treed sign Photo: Nancy Halloran
Atkinson, NH. “’Treed’ sign spotted along a woods walk. How long do you think this sign has been on this tree?” | Photo: Nancy Halloran
Cedar apple rust Photo: Rick Moore
Hanson, MA. The jellyfish-like fruiting body of cedar-apple rust. The fungus requires two different host trees to grow near each other: one of several hardwood trees such as crabapple or hawthorn, and a tree in the Juniperus genus, for example eastern redcedar. | Photo: Rick Moore
Great blue heron Photo: Tom Grett
Lancaster County, PA. “Great blue heron along a stream.” | Photo: Tom Grett
Horned owl nest Photo: John Hanlon
Mashpee, MA. “For the second year in a row, this great horned owl took over an osprey nest in January, successfully defended it against the returning osprey in March, and is now raising chicks. Photo taken on Mashpee Wampanoag land.” | Photo: John Hanlon
Thundering falls Photo: Ken Hatch
Killington, VT. “Thundering Falls. This is a good mud season short walk before most trails in Vermont open for the hiking season. The Green Mountain Club lists it as a wheelchair accessible 900-foot boardwalk over a wetland and a smooth gravel switchback path to a viewing platform.” | Photo: Ken Hatch
Wood frog eggs Photo: Susan E. March
Deposit, NY. “Newt snacks on wood frog eggs in a small woodland pond.” | Photo: Susan E. March
Ant mounds Photo: Sue Mayotte
York, ME. “Second Hill at Mount Agamenticus. The photo contains two Allegany ant mounds and the one in the forefront is about three feet high (my hiking pole is next to it for reference).” | Photo: Sue Mayotte
Blood root Photo: Sheri Larsen
Colchester, VT. “A lovely cluster of blood root wildflowers on display at Niquette Bay State Park in mid-April.” | Photo: Sheri Larsen
White trillium Photo: Charlie Schwarz
South Williamsport, PA. “A few white trilliums inside a deer-resistant fence.” | Photo: Charlie Schwarz
Yellow rumped warbler Photo: Barry Wicklow
Francestown, NH. “The yellow-rumped warbler is an early spring migrant.” | Photo: Barry Wicklow
Arbutus in hand Photo: Judy Sweet
Shelburne, MA. “Trailing arbutus blossoms were mostly a memory on April 27th, but these two little beauties were still hanging on. My hand shows how tiny they are.” | Photo: Judy Sweet

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