Happy March! Spring surely is on the way now and we can look forward to all the changes this season brings. Starting this month I’m going to offer some things you can look for outside, called Nature Notes. I hope you get outside to look for some of these things! (To help with this list I have consulted : the calendar about butterflies that Great Smoky Mountains National Park published for 2021, which features 3 of my photos. Some are from a book called Mountain Nature by Jennifer Frick-Ruppert and some are from the nature notes I have been taking in my backyard since 2014.)
So let’s look at March. Here are some things you can be looking for as you go on your walks and outings during the month of March. (Though obviously this will vary depending on where you live. My Nature Notes will be based on where I live–in western North Carolina. You can adjust it by a few weeks depending on if you are north of me or south.)
- Redbuds, serviceberries and cherry will be blooming.
- You will start to see some spring ephemerals popping up in the leaf-less woods, including spring beauty, trout lily, early meadow rue and jack in the pulpit.
- Bats return to the area or become active again, happily ridding us of mosquitoes and other insects. Welcome back bats!
- Bears emerge from their dens. Boy are they skinny!
- Bluebirds can be seen checking out nest boxes or nesting sites
- A male bluebird checks out the nesting box
- American toads and spring peepers call from vernal pools, mating and laying eggs.
- You may start to see the first Tiger Swallowtails flitting through the forest.
- Deer and elk shed their antlers. (Can you imagine the relief at getting rid of these giant bony structures on your head! But then of course, not too long they will start to grow new antlers. Amazing! Can you imagine finding these on the ground?)
- Some warblers start to arrive in the area, including Black and White Warblers, Black-Throated Green Warblers and Louisiana Waterthrush.
Can you add anything to the list? What Nature Notes would you add to the mix? Use the comment box below if you have anything to add. I’d love to hear from you!
I was surprised to hear a Thrasher this afternoon March 1st!
I will write it in the yard journals! It’s always fun when our old “friends” return from their winter break. Wouldn’t it be fun to ask them how their vacation was?