April Anticipation

It feels like time has taken forever, much like the anticipation of a visit from an old
friend, waiting for weeks, then days for an arrival that took way too long. That is
sometimes what April feels like, waiting for the grass to turn green, the buds on the
trees to burst forth into leaves and the earliest flowers to open along the edge of the
woodland. It truly is a time of transition from the gold, brown and white of winter to the
green of spring.

Some of our earliest native trees to bloom include box elder, red maple and
service berry. Some of these early bloomers hold their flowers in catkins or clusters and
are primarily pollinated by the wind, the reason that some people experience seasonal
allergies.

There is music in the air for those that take the time to listen, birds singing
familiar songs that we haven’t heard all winter. Who doesn’t get excited when the first
robin appears and you look up to witness flocks of returning geese, ducks and swans
traveling in a distinctive V across the blue sky. They seem to be talking with each other
as they glide across the miles only to land in a wetland or neighboring field for a chance
to rest and refuel.

As temperatures rise and insect activity increases, many of our songbirds follow
and some stay in search of a mate and a nesting site. Every year it is like a reunion of
sorts, old friends that appear along the way. Old friends that visit our yards, birdfeeders
and favorite natural areas. If you are a gardener, you may look for the return of tulips,
daffodils, rhubarb or a variety of other spring plants as they reach for the sky, poking
their heads out above the soil toward the warmth and energy that more direct sunlight
provides.
Another sound may join in soon, the frog chorus, as spring peepers, wood frogs
and chorus frogs make their presence known in search of a mate. There are also
unseen creatures emerging from winter hibernation looking for early food sources to
jump start their lifecycle. One of these is the native bumble bee queen that has over
wintered underground, just under the pile of residual brush and leaves left from last
year’s growing season.

She will search for early native flowers including Dutchman’s breeches, spring
beauties or even the flowers in catkins on some of our native trees and shrubs. These
early sources of nectar and pollen are instrumental to her ability to survive, establish a
colony underground and produce the next generation of workers and at the end of the
season more queens that will overwinter and continue the species.

Most people are familiar with honeybees which are not native, but our native bee
species are instrumental in the pollination of many different crops. What a great
opportunity to look at your yard and garden and add a few native trees, shrubs or
flowers to help the birds, bees and butterflies find food throughout the year. Plan a visit
to Collins Marsh and watch the transition gradually occur and take in the colorful
changes, sights and songs, that we call Spring.