April 29

It’s mostly sunny with temperatures in the upper 40’s as I make my way through the three-acre Riverbank Preserve and pause to observe water of the south branch of the Pine River flow gently past me. This watercourse begins its journey at the Blanchard Millpond, about two miles to the northwest. From where I stand, it continues southeast about two miles before spilling into the main branch of the Pine River (stock photo). Nearby, I spot a Black Willow tree displaying its female flowers. These trees are dioecious, with female flowers on one tree and male flowers on others. Male flowers are yellowish in color (stock photo). Near the ground, blanketing a decaying log is a patch of Baby Tooth Moss, displaying needle-like sporophyte stalks topped with tiny capsules, filled with spores. Next, I stoop down to notice a single fertile shoot of Common Horsetail emerging from the green grass. Later on a vegetative shoot will emerge with bright green conifer-like foliage growing around the stems (stock photo). The name “horsetail” arose because this vegetative stage resembles a horse's tail. Up ahead, I pause to hear the familiar sound of a male Song Sparrow. Like many other songbirds, this bird uses its song to attract mates as well as defend its territory. Laboratory studies have shown that the female Song Sparrow is attracted not just to the song itself, but to how well it reflects the ability of the male to learn. Males that used more learned components in their songs were preferred. High in a tall tree, I hear the territorial call of a male Redwing Blackbird. Looking more closely, I see its spreading tail feathers, another behavior for defending its nesting area in the cattails below.  Male blackbirds are polygynous. Each male holds a territory for a harem of five to 15 females. The advantage of such an arrangement is that the male can defend this territory, and the females find safety within the group. Glancing up, I spot the drooping female flowers from a Box Elder tree. This species is also dioecious with male and female flowers on separate trees. Male flowers (stock photo) hang in clusters on the outer buds of branches and later turn brown before withering away. Each female flower is replaced by a pair of samaras (winged seeds) that often hang on through the winter (stock photo). Just off the trail, I see a May Apple plant that has was zapped by a hard freeze, unlike a healthy one (stock photo). On the way back to the car, I first hear a couple of noisy Canada geese fly overhead and then pause to admire blossoms on a Pin Cherry tree.

End of April

Into the wild

Life and death

Are reconciled

Flesh and bone

Creature gives

Food to survive

Predator lives

Down the path

Barren field

Carcass aside

Sprouts revealed

 

D. DeGraaf

April 22

With morning temperatures in the upper 40’s and a brisk west wind under clear, blue skies, I’m standing on a highway bridge of M-20, west of Mt. Pleasant, as the Chippewa River flows south through the 18-acre, Hubschur Preserve, a recent acquisition of the Chippewa Watershed Conservancy. Hiking south along the riverbank, I notice an Autumn Olive shrub beginning to leaf out and a tangle of thorny, leafless Prickly Ash trees. Continuing south, I pause to take in the peaceful, springtime riparian landscape. From here, the Chippewa River flows due south through Audubon woods, loops north though Deerfield Park, meanders southeast before curving northeast through Meridian Park and continuing past Chipp-a-waters, Millpond, Nelson and Island Parks in the city of Mt. Pleasant (stock photo). Away from the water in the muddy flood plain, I come upon young leaves of Skunk Cabbage and shoots of Wild Iris. Nearby, I spot a 3-inch, caterpillar-like, male flower that fell from a Tag Alder tree. Each tree produces both male and female flowers, called catkins. Unlike the male flower, the female flower is small, red and cone-like (stock photo). After, barely sighting a perching Black-capped Chickadee in the underbrush, I look down to see a 3-inch River Mussel shell. As botanists look at tree rings to measure the age of a tree and learn about the climate and conditions of a forest over time, biologists can determine the age of freshwater mussels by counting the rings etched into shells and make observations about long-term stream health. On higher ground beyond the flood plain, I first, observe the lovely white blossoms of a Serviceberry tree and then stop to pick a dried seed head of Bergamot, crush it and smell its sweet aroma. Up ahead, I observe a couple of small holes in a tree trunk, one in the center of a knot, most likely made by Carpenter Bees (stock photo) Turning around and heading back toward the car, I notice the beautiful flowers from a Red Maple tree while listening to the trilling sound of a male Field Sparrow (stock photo). Female Field Sparrows arriving on the breeding grounds may experience a rude welcome from males seeking a mate. An unmated male will often fly at and strike a female on his territory, sometimes driving her to the ground. Despite such behavior, soon thereafter, the male is seen following his mate closely as she searches for a nest site. Almost back to the car, I come upon the skull of a spike-horn deer. The term “spike” is used for any male deer at least a year old that has two hardened antlers that do not branch or fork. 

From dark of winter

To light of spring

Redwing Blackbirds

Begin to sing

Warming sun

Replaces the cold

Meadow turns green

Finches turn gold

Welcome the rain

To melt the snow

From muddy earth

Ephemerals show

D. DeGraaf

 

April 15

Morning temperatures are in the mid 40’s, under partly sunny skies as I begin hiking north from Madison Rd. on a nature trail in Gratiot County’s Lumberjack Park. Serenaded by birdsongs, I continue across a boardwalk where I spot some sprouts of Skunk Cabbage, a sure sign of spring. Nearby, I notice some are leafing out, so I pick a fresh leaf, crush it with my fingers and smell the “Skunk”-like odor. This plant was important to Indigenous people, who dug the roots and roasted them for food. Deer target skunk cabbage when it first emerges in the spring, eating the yellow flower spike and the green leaves. Other signs of spring that catch my eye, include small, mottled leaves of Trout Lily and yellow blossoms of Spicebush. Up ahead, I pause on the footbridge over Mud Creek to listen to birdsongs while watching its water gently flow toward the Pine River. Following the trail along a steep riverbank, I stop and sit at a favorite bench to watch the Pine River flow gently past me. Moving along, I observe a few remnants of man-made trenches funneling down the steep bank toward the river. One suggestion is they are what’s left of log slides used during the nineteenth century lumbering era when huge White pine trees were cut down here in the winter, slid down over the snow into the river and floated downstream to a sawmill in Sumner. Crossing over Lumberjack Road, I proceed along the south side of the river where rays of the morning sun reflect on the flowing water. Far off, I spot a pair of 8-inch diameter Artist Bracket Fungi. A peculiarity of this fungus lies in its use as a drawing medium for artists. When the fresh white pore surface is rubbed or scratched with a sharp implement, dark brown tissue under the pores is revealed, resulting in visible lines and shading that become permanent once the fungus is dried (stock photo). This practice is what gives this fungus its common name. Proceeding along the Campground trail, I hear, among the birdsongs, two woodpeckers drumming in response to each other. Although drumming is used to “sing” to prospective mates and current partners, it has other purposes. Routine pounding makes it clear to neighboring woodpeckers exactly where their territory is. Approaching the car, I’m pleased to see a few blossoms of Spring Beauty, my first sighting of an ephemeral wildflower. Ephemerals bloom, undergo pollination and produce seed during a small window of time between snow-melt and when deciduous trees leaf-out. In the heat of the summer they typically die-back and retreat underground until the next year.

Nature’s morning music

Welcomes a warming sun

Hear a pheasant’s call

Before it starts to run

Hear the blackbird’s shrill

Guarding a nesting site

Hear the honking goose

Before it takes to flight

Hear the croaking frog

Down in the duckweed

I welcome every sound

Spring symphony indeed

 

D. DeGraaf

April 8

The midday temperatures are in the low 40’s, under partly sunny skies with a stiff north wind as I begin my hike at Alma’s Conservation Park. Soon, I pause to watch a White- breasted Nuthatch probing leafless branches of a tree looking for food. After walking along a high bank of the Pine River, I gaze out on the water where one of the Canada Geese extends its long neck under water to feed on submerged aquatic vegetation. At my feet, I notice the leaf litter includes mostly Oak and Beech while nearby, a large acorn with a hairy cap had fallen from an overhead Bur Oak tree. After taking one more glance at the Pine River, I turn south and stop by one of several vernal pools in the park. Vernal pools are small, shallow wetlands that fill in the fall or spring when rain or snowmelt drains into shallow depressions. They only hold water for part of the year and experience a drying phase every year. Because these aquatic habitats are temporary, animals that depend on seasonal pools are well-adapted to such conditions at different life stages. These animals include frogs, toads, salamanders and small crustaceans, like Fairy Shrimp (stock photo). The state of Michigan has initiated the VERNAL POOLS PARTNERSHIP program (https://vppartnership.iescentral.com) to increase awareness, understanding and protection of vernal pools through conservation, research, mapping and education. Continuing south, I first hear the song of a male Northern Cardinal and then easily spot him in a stand of Honeysuckle shrubs that are beginning to leaf out. This sighting brings up the question on how such an attractive-colored bird can avoid predation and survive as a species. Scientists think that a male’s redness signals to females that he is capable of producing superior offspring. Therefore, the reproductive advantage of bright colored males overcomes the predation disadvantage. Turning east, I notice a few basal rosettes of the invasive Dame’s Rocket plant that will not flower the first year. However, mature plants with their colorful blossoms will soon be evident throughout the park (stock photo). Crossing the power line easement field, I proceed along a narrow, earthen path through a forest of mature Pine and Spruce trees where I spot a deer carcass and some deer tracks. Up ahead, I can barely see a deer staring at me through the dense underbrush. After spooking it, I watch this Whitetail run away through an open meadow. Finally, I end up at the Eyer Learning Circle where one of the kiosk displays advertises the upcoming Earth Day.

Signs of spring are here and there

Forest trail is muddy and bare

Leaf litter blankets the ground

Chorus frogs make their sound

Pair of Mallards take to flight

Frisky squirrel in my sight

Calls of geese are loud and clear

Woodpecker drums very near

Blades of grass peeking through

Give the meadow a greenish hue

Grebes on the pond begin to dive

Mother Nature is coming alive.

 

D. DeGraaf