Springing to Life in 2018

Warm spring days, blossoms and bees; all’s right with the world.

Photos by NB Hunter (April 23, 2018). All Rights Reserved.

Happy Earth Day

Celebrating Earth Day with images from April, 2018.

Starlings searching for spilled grain on an active farm

Mallard at rest on a wintry spring day

Ring-billed Gull foraging in a flooded field

Mature whitetail after a long, cold rain

Turkey Vulture cleaning up a road-kill

White-throated Sparrow with a kernel of corn

Breeding Wood Frog in a vernal pool – today – a month behind schedule

Wild turkey (a young gobbler or “jake”)

Photos by NB Hunter. © All Rights Reserved.

Glory of the Snow

As I follow the sequence of bloom through the seasons, my focus is “wild” flowers, plants that occur in natural, uncultivated landscapes. There are exceptions of course, and no better example than Glory of the Snow. This hardy garden escapee, naturalized in my lawn, appears in late March and early April, often blooming in snow.

In addition to the visual treat of seeing the first floral color of the season, Glory of the Snow gives me an opportunity to observe the influence of annual variations in climate on the life cycles of plant and animal life (phenology). I selected and dated images from 2016 through yesterday to illustrate this fascinating annual conflict between winter and spring. Spring always wins, but more convincingly in some years than others!

18April2018: A week or more (?) until full bloom

14April2017: full bloom and a welcome event for hungry honey bees

29March2016: approaching full bloom, but experiencing a snowy delay

14April2016

Photos by NB Hunter. © All Rights Reserved.

 

A Wintry Spring Morning

After days of freezing rain and occasional snow, the expectations of a “normal” April day – wildlife, flowers, singing songbirds –  were absent. This macro of a Balsam Fir twig captured the moment.

Photo by NB Hunter (April 17, 2018). © All Rights Reserved.

Melting Ice and Snow

Early Spring means melting snow and exposed fields, melting ice and open water. Wild animals, many struggling to survive, seize the opportunity to feed and recover. Others continue their journey northward as habitats and food sources become available. Photographers are also recovering and more mobile. After months of donning multiple layers, feeding the wood stove and hunkering down in storms, seeing winter in the rear-view mirror is a joyous occasion!

Melt water enhancing a small stream and waterfalls in the hills

Gull foraging in puddled melt water in a harvested corn field

A pair of Wood Ducks at rest in a temporary pond (same as above)

Canada Goose  heading for its nesting territory in a cattail marsh

Canada geese at rest

Great Blue Heron silhouette, one of two flying northward

Open water in lakes and ponds means Osprey can go fishing!

Large numbers of hungry deer are foraging in cultivated fields; these were alarmed by a barking dog but won’t go far.

Photos by NB Hunter (March – April, 2018). © All Rights Reserved.

 

 

 

A Solitary Siskin

A Pine Siskin, alone at the feeders, lingering on its winter range. It’s 14 degrees F with snow cover… that may have something to do with this unusual sighting.

Photos by NB Hunter (7April2018). © All Rights Reserved.

Robins and the Endless Winter

I’m seeing flocks of migrating robins in thickets and sheltered creek drainages. They’re back, but food is scarce in our snowy, semi-frozen landscape. The persistent fruit of staghorn sumac is a staple this time of year, for many species of birds. It is an emergency ration that helps keep them alive when winter refuses to let go.

Photos by NB Hunter (4/5/2018). © All Rights Reserved.

 

Diving Ducks

Faced with nasty weather, I took a short road trip in search of wildlife that might be out and about in freezing rain: perhaps an insulated, waterproof species, at home in the icy water. To my surprise, that turned out to be dozens of ring-necked ducks on a local reservoir. They were feeding, sometimes diving in unison. These little ducks are always a treat, but especially so in a cold and dreary landscape.

Photos by NB Hunter (3April2018).

Lasting Images of March 2018

Wood Ducks 6March2018

Wild Turkey gobbler searching for waste grain 7March2018

Mature Bald Eagle feeding on a road-killed deer 8March2018

Desperate wild turkeys searching for seeds in old burdock 8March2018

Young deer, now relying on fat reserves for survival 11March2018

Foraging muskrat, seemingly oblivious to the snow and cold 17March2018

Evidence of the spring thaw at Chittenango Falls State Park 31March2018

A Rough-legged Hawk hunting over melting snow in the fields

Photos by NB Hunter. © All Rights Reserved.