Nature Notes: Welcome April!

Happy April, Friends. Spring is officially here, though judging from the temperature this morning  you might never guess as much. Here in Western North Carolina it is supposed to drop down to 21 degrees tonight! Yikes. But of course it won’t last long and we’ll be back to temps in the 60s and 70s in no time.

Have you been paying attention to the changes where you live? Seeing some new flowers  popping out of the leafy ground or birds singing in the trees?

Here are some things you can look forward to happening this month. (To make this list I consulted my backyard nature notes that I’ve been keeping for many years, a wall calendar featuring butterflies and moths (3 of my photos!) put out by the Great Smoky Mountains Association and a book called Mountain Nature by Jennifer Frick-Ruppert) 

• My favorite! The return of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds! Males arrive first, put out your feeders and watch for their return! The migration map of 2021 shows their rapid progress–they should be here in our area any day now!

• Lots of blooming wildflowers this month, including fringed phacelia, Virginia bluebells, Dutchman’s breeches, trillium, fire pink, wild geranium, wake robin, columbine, showy orchis, pink lady’s slipper, and dwarf crested iris. 

• Silverbell and Magnolia trees are in bloom

• More Warblers arrive, along with some of our other summer residents including scarlet tanagers and thrushes.

• Flowering Dogwoods and Redbuds are in bloom

• Some of our trees will begin to leaf out

• Many birds are focused now on reproduction, busily singing and building nests, including bluebirds, swallows, robins, cardinals, chickadees, etc. In our yard some birds like the Carolina wren, the chickadee, phoebe and cardinal have already built their nests! 

• Adult dragonflies, damselflies, and probably lots of other insects will start to appear. They have been living in the pond, river or stream now for some time (up to 8 years for some species!) and will emerge to crawl up a piece of submerged vegetation and climb out of their nymphal skins, emerging as adults with wings, ready to take their first flight. If you look closely around a wetland you may be lucky enough to see this happen–it’s amazing! 

Can you think of anything to add? What spring changes are you most looking forward to? What changes are you seeing in your neck of the woods right now? You can use the reply box below the post to let me know your thoughts. I’d love to hear from you!

By the way, if you want there are lots of live bird cams around the world. These are great because you can join anytime and just see what the birds are doing, kind of get to experience a day in the life of a bird. If you want to watch live birds on their nests, there are lots out there– check out sandhill cranes in Nebraska, or osprey in Maine, a red-shouldered hawk in Ohio, a bald eagle in Colorado, or a kestrel in Arizona, a red-tailed hawk in Ithaca, NY, or a barred owl in Indiania.

If you watch, let me know what you think and which is your favorite. There are SO MANY! It’s amazing technology that allows us to look in on a bird far, far away, from the comfort of our own homes.