New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

An explosion of life is underway in New Hampshire Right Now!

Tuesday 05/07/2024

Now is time to be paying attention to what is around us. Life is exploding and blooming all around us. This upcoming week will see the most migrants returning by air to the Granite State. Yes, many of the little warbler birds will arrive to start calling and nesting. Our trees will fill with life as is our waters at the same time.

Fish populations of our coastal rivers will swell as hundreds of thousands of river herring will be migrating inland to spawn. Really same goes for both the Merrimack and Connecticut Rivers as well. Herring and shad will be moving upstream in those two rivers over the next couple of weeks in huge numbers. Life is pouring into our state by day and night. Yes, most of the birds primarily migrate by night.

And frogs and salamanders? Yes, they too have or will be laying their eggs this week and those that did so a couple weeks ago will be hatching out into millions upon millions of tadpoles. Every beaver pond, vernal pool and water filled skidder track in the woods will be filled with life not seen any other time of the year. Numbers of living things in New Hampshire will peak over the next couple of weeks or so and then slowly decline as Mother Nature begins to take her toll as many youngsters will be feeding those stronger or faster to escape. The race to be the strongest and fittest has begun.

Seems like we have been into another cool, wet and cloudy spring. Really no string of warm days to warm the earth like some years. I am mystified this past week. May first the toads started trilling down back in the meadow. I didn't think we were that far along into spring, especially seeing how cool it has been. My thoughts of toads, and you'd be surprised how often I think of them, was that it just wasn't warm enough for them to be trilling. Yet there they were as plain as day. Well night in this case. So, the toads have tricked me this spring. I wonder what other trick Mother Nature has up her sleeve this spring?

And this IS Leaf OUT Week here in Central NH. Pay attention to the hillsides as you drive to work or about. Cast your eyes to the hills this week. Amazing colors of spring will burst from the hillsides. So many colors of green. Beautiful pastels.

This week things are almost changing minute by minute if you are watching. A tree devoid of blossoms will be painted by the sun to crowns of white and pink blossoms that can splash your eyes with the glow of the late afternoon sun bathing them. Yes, this is a week to be paying attention. Get outside and don't miss it.