Frogs and Flowers

I'm glad I made it out to Naugatuck State Forest this afternoon to soak in the spring. Yellow-rumped and Pine Warblers were flitting through the treetops among Red Maple blossoms (way too high up for my camera to reach), and the Pine Warblers' trilling calls rang out all over. And I was just in time to catch some of our early woodland flowers coming into bloom!

Trout Lilies are some of my favorite wildflowers, mostly because of their gorgeous mottled leaves:
 

Trout Lily flowers are also lovely, of course, and one particularly sunny patch in the woods was already full of these dangling yellow blooms:
 

Speaking of yellow flowers, the Spicebush plants are just now making clouds of small yellow blossoms, either floating just above eye level:

Or bursting in sprays from the ground:

This (I think) Small White Violet (Viola macloskeyi) looks like a tiny cheerleader, or perhaps a conductor ("come on, spring!"):
 

American Willow catkins float, backlit, above one of the ponds:

I love that the amphibians and reptiles are now out and about. These two Green Frogs looked so perfectly relaxed on their moss-covered rock next to a stream:

Ah yes, sun-warmed rock and stream-dampened moss. I can't imagine a more comfortable place for a frog:

Seeing these two frogs next to each other made me appreciate the variability in Green Frog markings. (And yes, these are both the same species, as far as I know. The only other green-colored frog we have in Connecticut is the American Bullfrog, which lacks the Green Frog's ridges along the sides of its back.) Where the first frog has a lovely green mask, this second frog looks like it dipped its whole head in some green paint:
 

Around the ponds' edges, practically every branch in the water was a basking spot for rows of Painted Turtles -- at least, until a person (me) walked by. Here's a stealthy shot of one of the turtle logs, just before the exodus.
 

The birds were mostly distant or hidden, but this lovely little Chipping Sparrow paused on a shady branch just long enough for a picture:
 

And the explosion of spring life is just beginning!

Woodland Wildflowers, and Defensive Birds

After nearly two weeks away, I was feeling some serious woods withdrawal when I made a trip back to Naugatuck State Forest yesterday morning. Ah, spring in the woods!

It was a little chilly when I arrived, and many of the wildflowers that I had been looking forward to seeing were still closed, but there were still plenty of blooms around. These tiny Dwarf Ginseng flowers made puffy umbrellas a couple of inches above the forest floor:

The Wild Strawberries were blossoming on a sunny bank:

And a little Jack-in-the-Pulpit flower was taking shape (before this plant and its neighbors had even unfurled their leaves):

These lovely little violets were growing in clumps in the marshy areas and along the path. I think I identified them as Small White Violets (Viola macloskeyi) when I found them here last year, but I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong! (Violets are tricky.)

The blooms on this small bush look an awful lot like Serviceberry (a.k.a. Juneberry, Shadbush, etc.), but I feel like I would've noticed if there were Serviceberries here (and munched on them) last summer. I love Serviceberries. Is this something else, instead, or could I have just missed the berries last year?

The Trout Lilies weren't quite ready to open their petals yet, but the closed flowers were quite pretty nonetheless:

And the Mayapples were sprouting up, building their own mini forest -- I think I see some buds on that one on the left!

Next to the Mayapples, a couple of Red Trilliums were nodding their green buds, not quite ready to open yet. I think these are some of the prettiest flowers ever (that color!), so I'll be eagerly watching for their arrival.

There was quite a bit of bird activity in the woods as well, especially on the lakes. A pair of Common Mergansers was vying for space with a pair of Mallards on the smaller lake, and I watched the Merganser drake chasing the Mallard drake. (I think it looks like the Mallard is sticking his tongue out at the Merganser in this picture. Boys!)

Once the Mallards had moved on, the Merganser pair sailed around for a bit, enjoying their territory:

But of course they flew off to another lake soon afterwards. (Why were you chasing the other ducks off, if you were just going to leave anyway?)

And I happened across something I haven't seen at these woods before -- a Canada Goose on her nest:

She's trying so hard not to be seen, with her neck all flattened down like that. And it worked pretty well, too -- I was standing there for several minutes before I noticed her at all. I wonder if there will be babies on this lake in a few weeks....

Happy spring!

Violets and warblers

Every time I go to the woods, even if I walk through exactly the same places as I did just the day before, it seems like there's always something new to see. I guess this probably has something to do with the fact that I can't look everywhere at once (which is unfortunate), so I'll always be missing some things one day with the possibility of seeing them the next.

So here's my new discovery for today: a whole big patch (several square feet) of these dainty little violets, each plant just a couple of inches tall, which I completely missed when I walked by this spot yesterday. As it turns out (and as I have just learned), there are many different species of violets (and subspecies, and hybrids, etc.), and several of them look very similar to each other. After some research, however, I'm reasonably confident that this is a Small White Violet (also called a Northern White Violet, Viola macloskeyi) -- these plants were growing in a very wet, swampy area, which is characteristic of this species, and they were quite small as the name suggests (and the leaves and flowers were a good match as well, but that was true for some other potential species as well). I'm open for corrections, though, if anyone reading this knows otherwise!

This is another one of the Yellow-rumped Warblers that have been flitting around the woods recently, a male this time (brighter and more colorful than the female). These guys are actually much flashier in real life than this washed-out picture shows, but I think you can still get an idea of the prettiness of these birds. The males are fun to watch, too, because they keep flying up to a perch, fluffing up their feathers, and trilling so that their whole body shakes -- I bet the ladies are impressed. :P

I don't think I've ever payed attention to pussy willows past their small-gray-fuzzy stage, but the catkins on this American Willow were stunning today (there's a lot more detail in this picture if you click on it to zoom in). I actually think this tree was past its peak, with some flowers already falling off into the river below, but it was beautiful nonetheless, and very cool to see up close.

There were many more plants with buds just about ready to burst into bloom -- before too long the forest floor should be awash with color, and then it will really feel like spring. :)