Hello, spring! It was 75 degrees when I went for a walk at Naugatuck State Forest this afternoon -- did I say "spring"? I think I meant "summer"! -- and things are really coming to life out there. In fact, I saw many creatures that I hadn't seen yet this year. It was a great day for firsts!
Like first amphibians, for instance. I'd heard Spring Peepers and saw Wood Frog eggs in the woods this past Thursday, but today I got to actually see the Wood Frogs for myself. I love these little creatures and the weird "quack"-ing sounds the males make. Some of the frogs were coupled up, pinkish-colored female paired with darker brown male:
But mostly there were single males floating across the pool's surface, waiting for the females, and calling out to them when I wasn't looking:
The frogs have produced quite a collection of eggs already -- I wonder how much longer they'll continue their activities:
I spent some time watching a bunch of Red-spotted Newts swimming along the shore of the lakes:
Newts are awesome (and so pretty!), and like the Wood Frogs, it seems like they might now have reproduction on their minds -- or at least, there was a certain amount of wrestling going on while I was there:
I also saw my first caterpillar of the year, a fuzzy Woolly Bear trundling across the path:
Other firsts from today include the first Eastern Phoebe (they're just now coming back from their wintering areas down south), the first turtles (Painted Turtles, basking on logs), and the first tick (crawling up my pant leg, yech).
And there were more cool things to see in the woods, too. A sizable ant mound (which I'd never noticed before) was broken open next to the path, and the big red-and-black ants were scurrying all over the place:
Finally, here's something I've read about on other nature blogs, but that I've never found on my own before -- flowers on an American Hazelnut shrub:
Those long dangly things (catkins) are the male, pollen-bearing flowers, and further along the stem, that tiny pink alien-like growth is the female flower. These little flowers are so weird looking, and also really beautiful -- this is why I'm so glad the internet exists, so that I can be aware of these things and be ready to look for them on my own visits to the woods:
Everything feels so alive now! Hooray for spring!
After I discovered the shrubby fields at the North-Western end of Naugatuck State Forest last week, and had such an awesome time there, I decided yesterday morning that I couldn't stay away any longer. So off I went, bright and early! Once again, it was an exciting visit, with lots of new things to see.
The birds were out in abundance again, although I didn't have any super-close encounters this time. Even at a distance, though, this male Indigo Bunting was nothing short of spectacular:
He was cheeping loudly and keeping a watchful eye on a nearby female. The girls of this species are so dull compared to the guys -- basically brown without any clearly distinguishing features that I could see. The only way I could tell that these birds were a pair was because they were sharing the same trees and making the same sounds.
This is certainly the land of the towhee -- everywhere I went, these birds were flying around, calling, and scratching in the undergrowth -- and their nests must have recently emptied. This scruffy youngster flew over for a few seconds to check me out:
House Wrens are certainly not uncommon, but I'd never seen one of these birds before, so I was happy to spot a small group of them (presumably another recently-fledged family) in a tree.
House Wrens are rather plain-looking birds, but I think there's something quite attractive about the subtle patterns on its wings and tail.
As always, there were insects aplenty. Several of these large dragonflies -- Twelve-spotted Skimmers -- patrolled the area. This one is a young male, with beautiful white spots in addition to the black on its wings, but not yet old enough to develop the white tail that males of this species usually have:
This Little Wood Satyr was showing off its impressive eye-spots (here's a picture of the less-dramatic tops of this butterfly's wings):
I just love the little orange tips on this butterfly's antennae, and is that a horn on its head? "Satyr", indeed.
A plant stem was the stage for this interesting animal behavior:
These ants are tending their herd of aphids. As the aphids suck juices from the plant, they secrete a sweet sticky liquid, called "honeydew," which the ants then eat. So both species benefit from this relationship: the ants get a source of food, and the aphids get watchful protectors. The plants don't really get anything out of the deal, however.
There were all sorts of flowers in bloom, including the brilliantly orange Butterfly Weed that I noticed last week. Here's a closer picture of these blooms, actually even brighter in real life than they look here:
This large Bull Thistle -- introduced from Europe -- was a several-feet-tall mass of sprawling thorns, although its flowers were quite pretty:
The goldenrods were just starting to open their sprays of delicate flowers. I think this might be Early Goldenrod, although I'll be happy if someone corrects me:
Finally, I was entranced by this beautiful yellow flower, but I'm a bit stumped. It looks similar to Black-eyed Susan, but its center isn't particularly dark, and the petals don't look quite right. Does anyone reading this have any ideas as to what it might be?
I'm finding it harder to go for walks with all the intense heat we've been having, and even the early mornings are just barely temperate now. Here's hoping for a break in the weather, and soon!
