Weekly Wanderings: May 2

Monday, May 2, 2022

May 2

The mid-afternoon sky is sunny with temperatures in the upper 40’s as I enjoy a solo hike at Forest Hill Nature Area, a place I’ve explored hundreds of times since it was established in 1993. From the south trailhead, I pass by a male Box Elder tree displaying his flowers and then spot a perching Common Grackle. Turning west and arriving at Sora Swale, I watch a Brown Thrasher perched in the underbrush and a few Painted turtles basking on a log. Turning west. I pass through a row of Paper Birch before following a trail into South Woods where I spot a Chipmunk before pausing at Swanson Swamp to take in the sounds of this remote wetlands. After side stepping some Coyote scat on a boardwalk, I make my way around to North Woods where I observe blossoms of Spring Beauty, my first ephemeral wildflower of the season. Spring ephemeral wildflowers, as their name suggests, bloom for a short time each spring. As understory forest dwellers, they only have a short window of suitable conditions for aboveground growth between frozen ground in winter and full shade of the summer canopy. These plants bide their time underground as lowly root tissue for most of the year, and sprint to photosynthesize, flower, and produce seeds in the early spring when there is ample light reaching the forest floor. Nearby, the unopened umbrella leaves of May Apple catch my eye. Just before exiting North Woods, I scare up a half dozen Wood Ducks from a vernal pond. Proceeding south, I arrive at Willow Wallow where the Tree Swallows are swooping around me as they catch insects off the pond surface. Heading east toward Reflection Hill, I observe a perching Song Sparrow and an Eastern Bluebird. From the hilltop, I look down on Grebe Pond as well as some of the buildings that make up the Nature Area headquarters. Also, amber patches of Switchgrass catch my eye. Descending the hill southward toward the car, I spot a mound of pea-size mud balls on the ground.. These “chimneys” are built by crayfish, but not the stream- and swamp-dwelling kind. These crayfish rarely visit open bodies of water, preferring to spend their days in water-filled chambers three to six feet underground. Burrowing crayfish (stock photo) are seldom seen, exiting their burrows only in spring and summer on rainy or very humid nights to forage for food or search for mates.