New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff

Spring is springing on us now

Wednesday 03/09/2022

Hang on to your hats! Spring is coming right at us in full right now. Yes, there may be another snow storm or two, but Mr. Sol is now well in control. He'll not shirk his duty to bring about the most significant changes of the year. And the quickest.

Everybody and everything wants to do spring things. From trees to flowers and every animal it's mating season. Ducks and geese are literally flooding back into New Hampshire right now. Glance at every pond, or even flooded field puddle, will reveal a duck or two. While the flood of ducks washes over the state, some quickly flow northward to breeding grounds to the north.

Skunk cabbage warms up enough to even melt some of the remaining snow around it to get a jump on spring before the budding trees overhead cut much of the sunlight off. Yes spring is in full throttle.

Along with the abundance of wildlife comes the sounds spilling out once more after the somber forests of winter. Maybe it will be that first sweet spring call of a chickadee, or sweet burble of a redwing black bird, then the distant quacking calls of a chorus of wood frogs before the deluge of spring peepers swamping the air with sound. Oh yes, life is pouring into New Hampshire by air and by Earth as our wood frogs and peepers spring up from the long dormant forest floor.

And the rising sun brings forth a whole new menu for our forest friends to dine on. Yes tender shoots are a welcome salad for our deer who have been munching trees all winter. The warming Earth sends clouds of insects for many to dine on once more from birds to bats and frogs and even a lucky trout. Yes even the bugs are pretty happy it seems. Spring is definitely a happy time of year.