Written by Gwyn Loud for the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust. She welcomes your sightings and questions at 781-259-8690 or gwynloud555@gmail.com
The weather over the past month has been a roller-coaster of freezing cold to temperatures in the sixties, well above average. March came “in a like a lion”, with very strong winds, causing many downed trees and some power outages on March 5-6. The fact that many ponds were still partially frozen well into the month is testimony to the prolonged cold we have had this winter in January and February. We shall welcome spring officially on March 20, the vernal equinox.
Given what has seemed a winter with plenty of snow and ice, I was surprised to learn that Massachusetts is actually experiencing worrisome drought, with the Northeast Region, which includes Lincoln, in “Critical Drought” status. The Drought Status website explains, “Overall, most of the state is in an 8-13 inches deficit since August, with the Cape and Islands at 5-8 inches deficit. Despite temporary surges in streamflow from recent precipitation events, streamflow and groundwater have worsened in nearly all regions, and recharge that typically occurs at this time of the year to reservoirs and groundwater is diminished.” It is raining as I write, which, hopefully, will help. Observers are noting that vernal ponds around town are either dry or quite low. The unusual warmth this month has also shortened the sugaring season, which needs temperatures to drop below freezing at night for the sap to rise the next day.
The landscape is still primarily brown and gray, in spite of very warm weather, but buds are swelling and more patches of green are appearing in fields and lawns every day. Croci and snowdrops are blooming in gardens, and along streams skunk cabbage is sending forth its pointed spathe, which encircles the flower, attracting insects such as honeybees, carrion beetles, and blowflies to its protein-rich pollen. Skunk cabbage (related to jack-in-the pulpit, not to cabbage), has several unusual qualities, including the ability to create a pocket of warmth around the flower through a process called thermogenesis. The leaves of skunk cabbage appear after the flower is pollinated, and I read that the roots may live over 200 years!
Many acorns from last fall can still be found, uneaten, on the ground, meaning that birds and mammals which eat them may have bigger or more litters this spring, thanks to the abundant food supply.
The avian spring migration is well underway, and red-winged blackbirds, brown-headed cowbirds, and common grackles have appeared in flocks or at our feeders right “on schedule”. Often the males migrate in flocks before the females, arriving on breeding grounds to start claiming territories, ready to welcome females. Many robins have over-wintered here, as usual, but the large flocks seen recently hunting for worms on lawns or in fields, are arrivals from the south, perhaps just passing through Lincoln. Turkey vultures are moving north, soaring overhead and riding thermals, in their characteristic dihedral pose. Killdeer, another sign of spring, have been spotted in fields, and any day I expect to hear the first Eastern phoebe giving his nasal “fee-bee”call. Increased bird song fills the air as we listen to cardinals proclaiming “cheer, cheer,” tufted titmice calling “Peter, Peter, Peter,” or mourning doves cooing, just to name a few. Eastern bluebirds are selecting bird boxes and great-horned owls are sitting on eggs, soon to hatch.
The American woodcock has returned, performing its characteristic mating dance in fields just after sunset. The male, a plump short-legged member of the sandpiper family, walks, bobbing, in a circle while giving a nasal “pent” call. Next he flies high, circling overhead, the wind in his wings making a whistling sound, followed by little chirps as he plummets back to the initial spot in the field, to do it all again. One hopes a female is enticed by this performance. Once mating occurs, the male departs and the female does all the work of raising young in a nest which is just a depression in leaf and twig litter. To quote the All About Birds site from Cornell “The female broods the nestlings only until they dry off; they all leave the nest together a few hours after hatching. She feeds the young for a week but they begin to probe for food on their own at 3-4 days. About a month later they become independent, moving around as individuals rather than with their siblings.” Earthworms form much of the woodcocks’ diet.
As for waterfowl, we hear Canada geese honking overhead, and various ducks have returned, including both common and hooded mergansers and wood ducks. Ron McAdow even captured a photo of common mergansers copulating. The mergansers and “woodies” are cavity nesters, and will find tree cavities in which to raise their young, although some wood ducks make use of man-made bird boxes placed on poles in shallow ponds. Other recent notable bird sightings include a screech owl, a couple of fox sparrows, a sharp-shinned hawk, and the lark sparrow at Drumlin Farm, now having stayed more than one hundred days, far from its home in the West.
As we welcome the spring arrivals, we are also saying good-bye to birds such as white-throated sparrows and dark-eyed juncos, which have been here all winter but will move farther north to breed. This month the juncos are singing their trilling songs, and white-throated sparrows are treating us to their beautiful plaintive “Oh Sweet Canada” song.
The annual amphibian migration of spotted salamanders, wood frogs, and spring peepers to lay eggs in vernal ponds occurs the first time in March or April when the conditions are right. Occasionally the migration happens on a “Big Night”, when observers can see significant numbers of amphibians crossing roads where the migration is known to occur. The necessary conditions are rain, temperatures about 40℉, and darkness. More often the migration seems to happen over several “small nights”, and that is what happened this year, starting the night of March 5, when it was raining. There was still ice on many vernal ponds but that did not stop some hardy individuals from making the journey. Subsequent mild rainy nights offered more opportunities for the amphibians to reach their natal ponds, and now we are hearing the wood frogs and spring peepers singing their breeding calls (the spotted salamanders do not vocalize). The wood frogs sound like quacking ducks, and after the pairs have mated in the water, the singing will cease, the females will lay their eggs in gelatinous clumps, and the adults will return to dry land for the rest of the year. The spring peepers, only an inch long, sing in choruses over several months and lay their eggs singly rather than in clumps. The spotted salamanders, like the wood frogs, lay eggs in gelatinous masses in the water and the adults return to the woods. This return journey means that on any wet night in the spring we may encounter amphibians on the roads after dark; please drive carefully.
Over the past month observers have seen many red foxes, sometimes making their beautiful arched leap as they hunt for prey under the snow. Coyotes have been reported also, one even walking between the Post Office and the Tack Room at the Mall, carrying a rabbit (the observer quipped, “daily special?”). Coyotes, and other mammals such as beaver, mink, fisher, otter, red foxes and gray foxes, shed their heavier winter coats as spring comes. Chipmunks, after napping much of the winter, are now active, and woodchucks have emerged from hibernation. Red foxes give birth in March in a den chosen and prepared by the female. The den is usually in sandy soil, has several entrances, and is often near a pond or stream. Mary Holland writes, “Generations of foxes may use the same den for many years. The female fox remains in the den for approximately ten days, a few days before and several after giving birth, while her mate brings her food.” There are about five pups in the litter, and they venture out of the den when they are about five weeks old. An unusual photo taken at Drumlin Farm was of scrapes on a tree, probably made by a porcupine, according to Tia Pinney, senior naturalist. Porcupines are seen occasionally in eastern Mass. but they are primarily found in the central and western parts of the state where there is more forest habitat.
We are starting to see a few insects as the weather warms. Tiny ants have appeared in my pantry, and cellophane bees have been circling over sandy area, searching for females. You may come across one of the earliest butterflies of the year, the mourning cloak. Mourning cloaks overwinter as adults, hiding under loose tree bark, and on the first warm days of March they emerge and can often be seen drinking sap from injured tree branches, especially oaks.
Looking skyward, we have the opportunity, clear skies permitting, to see a partial solar eclipse early in the morning on March 29. Check the link below to read the exact timing and be sure not to look directly at the sun; maybe you have some eclipse glasses left from last year’s spectacular total solar eclipse.
Pertinent links
To read about drought status in MA
To read more about the American Woodcock and hear its call
To hear the song of the white-throated sparrow
To read more about when and where to see the partial solar eclipse in Mass.
To see Stephanie Brandenburg’s video of a red fox leaping to catch a mouse
To hear Fox Calls from Will Leona’s conservation trail cam (sound on!)
To see a Fox territory marking, from Will Leona’s conservation trail cam
To see a raccoon near a vernal pool, from Will Leona’s conservation trail cam