Yay! I've been watching the woods behind our house for growing things ever since the snow melted a few weeks ago. There's been a lot of eager waiting. Now all of a sudden -- in just the past few days, really -- little plants have started sprouting up all over the forest floor. And while I was wandering in the woods this afternoon I finally got to see my first wildflowers of the year!
These Bloodroot blooms are such a welcome sight, like brilliant beacons among the dead leaves:
Once I noticed one Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) plant in bloom, I started seeing these dainty little flowers everywhere:
I love the pale pink veining on these little flowers:
Some of the Spring Beauty flowers were much paler, and still very pretty:
It's so exciting to get to discover the plants that live on this wooded slope. Every new appearance is a surprise! I was happy to see these Mayapple plants pushing their way above ground:
Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) leaves are now scattered across many areas of the forest floor; these leaves are still some of my favorite spring sights:
This small patch of Ramps was an exciting discovery! I'll be sure to sample a couple of these onion-related plants in the next few weeks:
Big clumps of what I think are Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) have sprouted up seemingly overnight. I've never encountered these plants before, and I'm very curious to see them when all those blue flower buds open up:
Cutleaf Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata) plants are abundant in these woods, and they're on the brink of blossoming. I really like their jagged silhouettes:
Outside of the woods, a male Yellow-rumped Warbler (the first warbler I've seen this year!) was looking especially fancy among Red Maple blooms yesterday afternoon:
And not quite on the topic of flowers, but still related to the changing seasons, I was happy to meet a singing Brown Thrasher along our driveway:
I plan to check on these woods every few days; updates on the progress of our local flora will certainly appear here. Hooray for spring!
I've had a great summer for seeing baby birds on the beach! After the excitement of the Piping Plover chicks (who continue to do well and should be flying off to start their adults lives any day now), I was very happy to find that the Killdeer eggs at Silver Sands State Park have hatched. Three baby Killdeer were running around on the beach yesterday morning!
One of the parents was keeping a close watch on the babies (and me) as they foraged:
It's so cool to see the similarities between these babies and the Piping Plover chicks, since these are both species of plover. But these guys are lankier and pointier (although to be fair, they're also probably a bit older than the Piping Plover chicks were when I first saw them), with bolder markings. What a handsome baby you are!
I love, love, love the long downy feathers that make up these guys' fluffy tails. I've never seen anything quite like that on a baby bird before, and it's just so fancy! These little birds have got some nice eyebrows, too:
And the mottling on their backs and heads is very pretty:
Baby Killdeer, I just want to snuggle you! But I won't. Happy bug-hunting!
In the fields behind the marsh, two White-tailed Deer fawns were grazing. (More "-deer" babies! How appropriate!) Such a lovely dappled creature:
The deer in this park are so used to people walking by, this little guy barely looked at me before going back to grazing and itching flies:
Its sibling (and presumably Mom, although I never saw her) headed back into the trees, but this fawn ambled up a nearby mound of dirt and rocks. I love those little feet, and those big smooth ears:
The fawn soon came bounding back down again, though, making little bleating sounds and looking around for its family. Ah, they're just over there. OK, a small snack first:
And then the little deer melted into the scenery:
Nearby, a wide lane through the park had become a spa for American Robins. Dozens of these birds -- sleek adults and spotty juveniles -- were flying around, calling, and taking advantage of several available cleaning methods. Quite a few robins were sunning themselves on the path, wings and feathers all splayed out:
This behavior looks so strange, but apparently it's quite normal. This adult was puffed up in a sunny spot right next to the path:
And when I walked past, it flew up into the nearby bushes for a thorough grooming session:
Amid all these robins, I was surprised to see a Brown Thrasher slinking around:
Brown Thrashers aren't super common in Connecticut, and I've only seen them a few times. How amazing are those yellow eyes? This thrasher worked its way down the lane until it reached a couple of puddles where robins were bathing:
A bath on this warm and sunny morning? Yes, I think so:
Yay, water:
Hey there (a robin insists), time's up, move along:
The thrasher yielded the puddle to the robin, looking a bit scraggly with those wet feathers:
I bet the bath felt good!
Other sights from yesterday's visit include a Common Yellowthroat (perhaps this year's fledgeling, with that yellow skin at the corner of its mouth?):
And a small band of Wild Turkeys at the road's edge:
My weekly visits to the beach continue to be awesome, and they almost make up for the fact that this summer has been woefully lacking in woods walks. I'll have to remedy that, and soon!
