Spring is Here

Actually spring came and then departed as I spent all but a couple of days of May in the hospital, missing the warbler migration and many spring wildflowers. But here's a delayed post from the beginning of spring –

Spring began on March 1^st with little to no snow and the first birds returning from warmer climes –

For much of March the weather alternated from warm to cold and back again. Silver maples along the river bloomed and ducks stopped by on their way north –

Then additional treats of spring arrive in April with the return of kinglets, house wrens and the first warblers –

The first insects emerged –

And then the ephemeral spring flowers burst into bloom –

The spring ephemerals have to emerge, flower and produce seed before the trees’ leaves fully emerge and expand to shade the forest floor –

By late April the broad-winged hawks have returned from the tropics to hunt amphibians and snakes and small mammals –

There’s more to spring and therefore more posts to come – but I'll have to wait until next year.