For those of you who aren’t members of Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, you may not know about Gwyn Loud’s monthly wildlife column. Always worth reading - this month’s is particularly good so I am moved to share. Enjoy!
Robin > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Lincoln Land Conservation Trust <[email protected]> > Subject: May Wildlife Column: Turkeys, Chickadees, and Spring Blooms > Date: May 21, 2025 at 8:59:47 AM EDT > To: <[email protected]> > Reply-To: Lincoln Land Conservation Trust <[email protected]> > > > > May Wildlife Column > > Written by Gwyn Loud for the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust. Gwyn welcomes > your sightings, pictures, and questions at 781-259-8690 or > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>. Banner photo of nest > building Chickadee, Carol Roede. > > Wild Sarsaparilla, Ellen Meadors > > Wild Geranium, Bryn Gingrich > > Nodding Trillium, Carol Roede > Significant rain over the past month has lead the official status of drought > in the Northeast region of MA to be lowered to “mild drought”. Ponds are > full, streams and brooks are flowing fast, and plentiful rain has spurred > plants of all kinds to burst into leaf or flower. This is the month to relish > the bright greens of spring; the color will change to deeper shades as we go > through the rest of the season and on into summer. > > Most deciduous trees have leafed out by now, with black locusts and oaks > being among the last, as usual. Catalpas, such as the twisted tree by the > Library, are also late leafers (I made up that word). Red maple samaras have > looked pinkish recently, and will soon come twirling to the ground like > little helicopters. Pine pollen is starting to float through the air, coating > cars and many surfaces, and leaving swirls of yellow on puddles. People with > allergies are well aware of wind-blown pollen from various trees and grasses. > Horse chestnut trees are in bloom, as are shrubs such as shadbush, > honeysuckle, and low-bush blueberry. Along roadsides the flowers of celandine > (yellow) and wild geranium (pink) add spots of color, and low-growing plants > such as violets, ground ivy and ajuga add purple to the palette. I appreciate > the dots of gold in my lawn, thanks to dandelions, buttercups, and > cinquefoil. In the woods you may find jack-in-the pulpit and wild > sarsaparilla, with Canada mayflower (aka wild lily-of-the valley) carpeting > many areas of the woodland floor. A friend found a nodding trillium, and pink > lady’s slippers are always a treasure to discover. Garlic mustard (invasive) > is in full flower and should be pulled before it sets seed. Poison ivy is > flourishing too; the shiny young leaves show a reddish tinge at this stage. > > Speaking of lawns, to repeat a quote from an earlier column, Tim Traver wrote > in The Outside Story, “Some 50 million acres of the American landscape is > covered by lawn, and Americans spend an estimated $100 billion or more each > year on lawn care. Yes, there’s beauty in these manicured spaces. But there’s > also significant environmental cost in this age of climate four alarm bells. > In recent decades – citing the use of fossil fuels, water use, the damaging > runoff of fertilizers, and the detriment of insecticides – many have begun to > rethink the mighty lawn.” Allowing parts of our property to stay wild, or at > least be mowed less often, is a win-win for the health of the ecosystem and > your budget. > > Our favorite summer avian residents have arrived from points south. > Ruby-throated hummingbirds and chipping sparrows returned right “on time” and > male Baltimore orioles, indigo buntings, rose-breasted grosbeaks, and scarlet > tanagers win prizes for color. Numerous wood warblers in spring finery, > always sought-after by birders, have been spotted, including palm, pine > yellow-rumped, American redstart, Nashville, chestnut-sided, magnolia, > yellow, black-and-white, black-throated green, black-throated blue, common > yellowthroat, blue-winged, and Northern parula. More elusive birds seen or > heard recently include ovenbirds, a blue-gray gnatcatcher, warbling vireos, > great-crested flycatchers, Virginia rails, a Northern waterthrush, and two > spotted sandpipers near the pump house at Flint’s Pond, where common loons > nested last year. It remains to be seen whether the loons will return. An > Eastern meadowlark and bobolink were seen in fields near Hanscom and we hope > that more bobolinks will return to Farm Meadow and Drumlin Farm. Fish crows, > giving a nasal “caaw caaw” are becoming more numerous and gray catbirds seem > plentiful. > > Wild turkeys have been anything but elusive, parading around in flocks or > pairs, with toms giving frequent mating displays, hoping the hens will be > enticed. > > The world around us is filled with bird song, and one species which tries to > “do it all” is the Northern mockingbird. To quote Cornell’s All About Birds. > “Both male and female mockingbirds sing. They often mimic the sounds of birds > (and frogs) around them, including shrikes, blackbirds, orioles, killdeer, > jays, hawks, and many others. They go on learning new sounds throughout their > lives. The song is a long series of phrases, with each phrase repeated 2-6 > times before shifting to a new sound; the songs can go on for 20 seconds or > more. Many of the phrases are whistled, but mockingbirds also make sharp > rasps, scolds, and trills. Unmated males are the most insistent singers, > carrying on late all day and late into the night. Click below to hear Norman > Levey’s recording of a local mockingbird. > > Baltimore Oriole, Jeannine Taylor > > Double-crested Cormorant, Barbara Peskin > > > Common Yellowthroat, Carol Roede > > Scarlet Tanager, Carol Roede > > Tree Swallows, Ron McAdow. > This is prime nesting season for birds, and each species makes a distinctive > nest, primarily from instinct. Ongoing research, however, reveals that birds > may also learn by watching more experienced birds, and experimenting with > materials. The house wrens I have been observing know that cramming a pile of > twigs in the bird house is the way to go and will appeal to a female. At > least there is a bit of soft grass in the bottom for the eggs. Barn swallows, > nesting in my neighbors’ barn, scoop mud from the edge of puddles to help > plaster their nests to a wall. A number of birds, including chickadees and > tufted titmice, build nests in tree cavities, often making use of holes > previously made by woodpeckers. I have been watching a pair of pileated > woodpeckers making a nest high in the dead trunk of a pine tree right along > the road. The adults, working from inside, have littered the ground with the > bits of wood they toss out of the cavity. Sometimes birds nest in odd places. > For example, a pair of Carolina wrens, as they did last year, built a nest in > my bike helmet, which was left in the basket of my bike, and house finches > often nest in old wreaths hanging on a door. > > > > Northern Waterthrush, Carol Roede > > Pileated Woodpecker, Dr. Anil Kumar > > Roosting Turkey, Bryn Gingrich > Many of our common mammals are rearing young at this season. The white-tailed > deer doe, after six to seven months of gestation, gives birth to one -or more > often, two – fawns with a half hour of labor, and within an hour of birth the > fawns can stand on wobbly legs. The fawns mostly lie still for several days > and the doe stays away as much as possible to avoid attracting predators to > the young. She returns to nurse, however, as often as eight to ten times in a > 24-hour period. Sometimes well-intentioned humans come across a fawn lying in > the grass, think it is abandoned, and try to “rescue it”. Not to worry! Mom > is not far away, keeping an eye on her young. At about two weeks of age the > fawn twins start playing with each other and a week later begin eating grass. > Throughout the early months the spots on the fawns help camouflage them. > > Observers have reported seeing mink, raccoons, rabbits, an opossum, beavers, > woodchuck, coyotes, a skunk, red foxes, and weasels (one was carrying a baby > rabbit). Fox kits are now old enough to emerge from the den and they are > gradually weaned as they accompany their mother and learn to hunt for food. > People rarely write to me about squirrels and chipmunks, probably because > they are so common! > > Our Conservation Ranger, Will Leona, reports seeing lots of snakes and > turtles. Since they are cold-blooded they need to warm up by basking in the > sun. We are approaching the season when we may find snapping turtles crossing > roads to look for places to dig a nest. Please drive carefully! Neighborhood > children found a baby painted turtle and took it carefully to the nearest > pond. Some painted turtles which hatch in the early fall choose to > over-winter in the nest, which was the case with this one. > > New Fawn, Chris Hamilton > > Spotted Salamander, Paula Robinson > > Water Snake Pretzel, Will Leona > > Baby Painted Turtle, Camilla Christensen > > Sweat Bee on Shadbush, Carol Roede > Wood frog tadpoles should have legs by now and are preparing to leave the > ponds. I heard American toads trilling their breeding songs around Patriots’ > Day and they laid their eggs in long strings looking like black necklaces. > Green tree frogs are starting to call, and on a recent warm day I heard my > first bullfrog give its deep “jug-a-rum”. Spotted salamanders, after laying > eggs in vernal pools, are back in the woods, living in camp places such as > under logs or under leaf litter. Paula Robinson found one in a drain and put > it carefully in the woods. > > In the world of insects we are starting to see butterflies. A Woods End Road > resident spotted a monarch; Journey North maps show the progress of monarchs > as they make their way north from their wintering grounds in Mexico. Cabbage > whites have been flitting around, a tiger-swallowtail was reported, and I > spotted a little blue butterfly in April, most likely a species of Azure, one > of the earliest butterflies to appear in spring. A woolly bear caterpillar > was on my driveway, surely headed to spin a cocoon soon. The woolly bear, > unlike most caterpillars, over-winters as a larva and after two-three weeks > in its cocoon, will emerge as an Isabella tiger moth. Bees of various species > are busy pollinating flowers in the wild and in our gardens, also rearing > young… > > > Trail Camera Footage + Continue Reading > > <https://lincolnconservation.us22.list-manage.com/track/click?u=455f86932575127c83f0b091e&id=fc2d324d78&e=90ef112d06> > View email in browser > <https://mailchi.mp/lincolnconservation.org/read-the-september-wildlife-column-45025?e=90ef112d06> > LLCT · 145 Lincoln Rd Unit 102A · Lincoln, MA 01773-7304 · USA > update your preferences > <https://lincolnconservation.us22.list-manage.com/profile?u=455f86932575127c83f0b091e&id=d2fbba996f&e=90ef112d06&c=9580ec4638> > or unsubscribe > <https://lincolnconservation.us22.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=455f86932575127c83f0b091e&id=d2fbba996f&t=b&e=90ef112d06&c=9580ec4638> Robin Wilkerson 31 Old Winter St. Lincoln, MA 01773 [email protected]
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