Look Around You in Spring

[Music] [Music] spring is here the snow geese are heading north it is true that the snow bank still lie in the shadows of the hills and the trees stand like skeletons but nevertheless spring is here and it's time to look around you it's fun to watch for the first signs of spring the grass becomes green almost overnight the skunk cabbage pushes its way through the frozen mud and becomes the first flower of spring buds begin to swell as the SAP Rises and this is the time to look for icicles on the maple trees last winter a storm cracked this twig and now dripping SAP forms an icicle during the day evaporation takes away the water and finally leaves some icicle of almost pure sugar and it's positively delicious it is the rising SAP that produces flowers on the trees but the flowers are so tiny that most people never notice them these are the flowers of the red maples they have no pedals but they are true flower is just the same willows are another sign of spring these fuzzy catkins are really flower buds the flowers on the willow will have either stamens or pistols but never both teary honeybee visits flowers that produce only pollen nearby a red advo butterfly seeks nectar from flowers bearing only pistols only flowers with pistols will produce seeds some people watch for the first Robin of spring others for the first Meadowlark hunting insects among the first dandelion one of the best signs of spring is the chorus of the frogs first is sound off is the spring peeper it uses the Bubblegum techniques and here is a swamp tree frog using it throat as a sound chamber you can hear it a half a mile away down underground the warming temperatures of spring are awakening another creature the chipmunk is beginning to come out of hibernation all winter long it was dormant only a spark of life flowed within now through a series of convulsive movements the chipmunk begins to shift into high gear its heartbeat increases the rate of breathing becomes rapid and finally the chipmunk is almost back to normal soon dit will be back in action in the spring woodlands the warming Sun also wakes up the queen bumblebee all through the winter she was frozen fast in the earth now she pushes her way to freedom and begins the search for a nesting site April brings a flush of new growth to the land some of the Willows turn to a golden yellow with the coming of spring hepaticus pushed their way through the dry leaves of the forest floor and displayed their delicate beauty the flowers of the bloodroot are wrapped by a protecting leaf as they push upward they soon open into delicate white blossoms overhead a sapsucker busily drills a series of holes in the bark of a tree the whole turn neatly spaced about half an inch apart and once the SAP starts flowing the SAP sucker moves from hole to hole to drink of the sweet liquid later you might find bright orange colored patches especially on the Ironwood trees these are caused by an algae growing in the sap that runs from the holes birds like the Robin that arrived in March are now busy establishing nesting territories this Robin is warning all others to stay out the song sparrow sings first from the cherry tree and then from a stump to establish boundaries of a nesting territory the red winged blackbird not only sings out a warning but also displays scarlet epaulets whenever a rival comes near [Music] a grackle struts and postures before a female who seems to be quite indifferent to his courtship efforts and a creaky love song doesn't seem to help a wooded pond is fun to explore in April the water is cold and rubber hip boots are necessary the dog takes a drink but doesn't do much exploring you'll find many interesting things on the bottom of a pond this is the caddisfly larvae it builds a house from debris found on the bottom and carries it along wherever it goes later the larvae will emerge as a mature catice fly a fly that looks much like a moth here in the spring ponds you might also find the delicate fairy shrimp it is a crustacean that is only half an inch long it swims on its back and uses its gills for paddles you can take the fairy shrimp home with you and keep them in a small aquarium but be sure to bring along a supply of pond water to the pond water contains the microscopic life on which the fairy shrimp feeds when the marsh marigold comes into blossom the ponds and streams take on a beautiful hue the bright color is attractive to bees that travel from flower to flower gathering pollen the skunk cabbage now really looks like a cabbage at the base we see the withered flower of last march along the edge of the pond the Wilson snipe probes for worms in the mud the Sandpiper called the yellow legs daintily searches for food while a blue-winged teal hunt in the deeper water in April a new voice joined the chorus of the frog it is the call of the leopard frog or metal frog hoping to attract a mate [Music] if another frog approaches it immediately swings off in pursuit the eggs of the leopard frogs are fairly easy to find and you might want to take some of them home and watch them develop but don't put them into water taken directly from the faucet tap water has too much air dissolved in it and it may also have chlorine and both of these are harmful to frog eggs if you let the tap water stand for about 24 hours as we have it will be safe to use now you can watch the eggs develop each egg is protected with a heavy coat of gelatin gradually the embryo inside begins to develop and take shape the head becomes recognizable the body begins to lengthen and finally the tadpole is formed now the tadpoles wiggle to break free from the egg mass at this point it is wise to return most of your tadpoles to the pond keep only a few and try to raise them feed them fresh green algae from the pond and watch them grow in the first part of May when a new soft green comes to The Woodlands go out and look around you you'll find places where the spring Beauty covers the ground like a carpet each flower delicately veined in pink in the deeper woods the Trillium stand in great clumps they are members of the lily family and as the name Trillium indicates they have three leaves three sepals and three petals in some places the trout Lily surf on lilies spread out like a carpet they are also called dogtooth violets and adders tongue a honey bee probes one of the blossoms for nectar violets are abundant - and a busy bumblebee visits one after another overhead a redheaded woodpecker is still courting he raps on wood warning all other redheaded woodpeckers to stay out of this woodland but it takes more than a warning to get rid of a persistent rival and our woodpecker does his best to drive an intruder away from the stub that he has selected as a nesting site nearby a grey squirrel gathers a harvest of newly ripened elm feeds it is a good food and very abundant down on the ground a cottontail rabbit feeds on new growing plants spring is a playful time for cottontails a time of meeting and one will often leap high upon the approach of another not far away one of the females has carefully hidden a nest just below the surface of the ground it is a comfortable nest for the nest hide six young that are blind and helpless early May at the time that many trees come into flower a red bud spreads a soft lavender hue across the landscape and when it mixes with the white of the flowering dogwood it produces an unforgettable seed the dogwood is one of the spectacular flowering trees of the southern Woodlands further north the frothy white blossoms of the wild plum have appeared attracting the red admiral butterfly and also the Oriole orioles love nectar and they will visit both the plum and the cherry when the Orioles appear in the backyard try putting out an orange that has been cut in half Orioles love fruit juice and they will often come down to feed from the orange one of the most spectacular of our spring Birds is the Scarlet Tanager especially when you find it any flowering pear tree May is the time to look for Warblers every bush and tree seems to be filled with them you might see a black throated blue Warbler hunting for insects a Magnolia Warbler in black and gold a chestnut sighted Warbler with bright yellow crown a black and white Warbler that acts like a creeper and a pom Warbler characteristically pumping its tail up and down I in the oak tree a Nashville Warbler hunts among inconspicuous oak flowers The Woodlands have many beautiful flowers at this time of the year the flocks are Sweet William has a delicate beauty and if you look around you may be lucky enough to find a clump of Dutchman's breeches which in close-up does look like a pair of breeches hung upside down another flower of late spring that lives up to its name is the jack in the pulpit out in the ponds the new green cattails are pushing through the old-growth and this is the time that the marsh resounds for the singing of the toads each toad lift up his bagpipes and sings out and all again if you look around you might find the eggs of the toad laid in long strands on the bottom the Robin is now busily gathering grass for nesting material she told some polls to obtain he supply she is building a nest in the pear tree first she builds up a base with grass then adds mud to provide solid strength by pushing and turning with her body she shapes the nest soon it will fit perfectly in no time at all so this becomes a home for for young Robins who greet their mother with wide-open mouths by the end of May the young are fully feathered and almost ready to leave the nest a flicker selects the trunk of an old apple tree as her nesting site it takes three or four days of hard work to carve out a nesting cavity now watch as the female takes her turn at the work the nesting site is a good one and the flickers successfully rear a brood of young there are a number of birds that will use a birdhouse made by man the purple Martin is one of these it prefers an apartment house where many families can nest together Martin houses can be built in many styles but they should be placed out in the open near a field or a lake Martin's you see catch insects on the wing and they need plenty of flying room the Tree Swallow will also take a birdhouse it is best to place this house along the edge of a field or stream notice that we clean out last year's nest before we put up the house a birdhouse should be fastened securely so that it will not fall down during the nesting season if you want to build a birdhouse try making one for the house Wren they are easy to attract to the backyard build a birdhouse next spring hang it in an apple tree and then announce to the world that you have a birdhouse that can be rented for a song [Music] so you see spring is a fascinating time of the year and there are many things to see and to do you can look for sugar icicles or identify the flowers of Springs for fairy shrimp collect and observe frog eggs and you can watch for the arrival of birds during migration yes spring is a great time of the year if you just look around you [Music] [Music]