The Northward movement

By Beth Sullivan

Migrate: To pass periodically from one region or climate to another, as certain birds, fishes or animals.

March is a month of migration. In many places the process began much earlier and will not stop until everyone or everything is where it’s supposed to be, to breed and raise young, and then it begins all over in reverse.

Now that the day lengths are increasing, and daylight hours are nearly equal to night hours, many creatures are being inspired to make their migration, usually in a northward direction, back “home” here, to where they belong, in our opinion.

In the month of March, I usually begin my list of firsts: things like Peepers and Wood frogs are important firsts. Those are checked off. The first Painted turtles out on a log have been spotted. But they never ventured far. They just stayed down and under all winter. They emerged recently to greet the warmth, but will dig back underground in the face of the cold that is surely coming in this fickle month.

The first Purple Martins have arrived in places like Florida and Texas, but they will not reach here until April. So I don’t get my hopes up for them for a while. You will certainly be getting reports as soon as ours arrive.

Purple Martins have already begun housekeeping in Florida. Photograph by Dennis Main.

March migrants

The migrants of March are the Osprey, the Eastern Phoebe and the Tree Swallows, that I eagerly await. For sure there are many more, but these have always been my true indicators of spring. All three of these arrive within a week, more or less, around the Vernal Equinox- the first day of spring. So much, though, depends on the weather that either assists them or keeps them grounded. If we get a nice southerly flow, they will all catch the wind and arrive earlier. If we continue to be hit with Nor’easter type storms, they will hunker down where they are and wait.

Interesting to note though, even as we eagerly anticipate the first sightings of these new arrivals, we sometimes overlook those migrants who slip away quietly from our area, to return farther north to their own breeding grounds. Sometimes it’s hard to remember the last Hooded Merganser I saw on a cove, or, come later into March and April, when I no longer hear the Juncos twittering in the bushes.

 The bird I really wait for is the osprey, sometimes showing up for St. Patrick's Day.

This Phoebe in Florida, is a real sign of spring in New England, but won't arrive until it warms up and are there are insects to eat. Photograph by Dennis Main.

Tree Swallows will arrive in a few weeks. Photograph by Rick Newton.

Sometimes it's hard to remember when the last Hooded Merganser took off from our icy coves to return north.

Another kind of migrant

There is another interesting group of migrants: people, know as snow-birds - those who leave the colder climates, not necessarily to breed and nest of course, but to escape the cold and enjoy the climate farther south.

What is also pretty funny to think about, is that many of the birds that leave here in the winter, end up in the same area as our snow-bird friends. Those Osprey, Phoebes and Tree Swallows, as well as Egrets, Herons and many Warblers are all down south with our friends and likely will return around the same time.

Also, thanks to population shifts, many southern birds have expanded their range north, so birds such as the Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren and Red Bellied Woodpecker have only recently, relatively speaking, become established here in Connecticut.

We may never see Wood Storks or White Ibis here in Connecticut, but that’s OK. I am always most eager to see that first Osprey of March and welcome them back to their nests here. And I will look forward to seeing friends return as well.

The Red Bellied Woodpecker only arrived in this area from farther south within the last four decades. Photograph by Dennis Main.

Some birds like these White Ibis, will probably never expand their range this far north, but who knows what climate change will bring. Photograph by Alan Brush.

Photographs by Beth Sullivan unless otherwise indicated.

Word of the Season

By Beth Sullivan

Phenology…a word I have heard on multiple occasions in the last week! A word I pretty much knew the definition of, or the idea of, even more or less wrote about a few weeks back. But I decided to look it up to double check why it seemed to be a buzz word recently.

Phenology-noun: The science dealing with the influence of climate on the recurrence of such annual phenomena of animal and plant life such as budding and bird migrations.

We await the first Osprey in Mid-March.

Those of us who are nature watchers know the concept well, even let the word flow off our tongues frequently. We have kept journals and logs over years and decades, marking the cycle of seasons and annual “firsts” (Thoreau, Leopold and Teale did too). Over the last years of writing this blog, I have noted first occurrences of some of my favorites: “Return of the Osprey,” “The First Tree Swallow,” “First Purple Martins to return to Their Gourd Houses.” We wait for the Skunk cabbage to show itself from beneath the snow. We wait for the first warm rainy night when the salamanders and wood frogs leave their wintering spots and move to vernal ponds for egg laying. We eagerly listen for the first spring Peepers. I wait for the chipmunk in my stone wall.

Spring Peepers wait for the ice to melt and will call on warmer nights

It's not just the length of day

Many of these events are regulated by day length. Birds usually begin their Northward migration based on the length of the day, not necessarily the temperature. They do not know what the conditions are up North. Amphibians, deep in the ground, are stirred by temperature. Warming air temperatures translate to warming soil, and melting ice and stimulates them to move. The warming of the soil also dictates plant growth from seeds or dormant roots. Air temps as well as day light will determine tree budding and sap flow.

Populations of Canada Geese head north based on day length

This year we are all feeling a bit askew…whether or not we realize, it is phenology at work! The very cold, very late spring has everything off kilter. Ice is not off the waterways, and returning osprey need to fish. Overwintering water fowl are starving as the ice covers the shallow water, and they cannot graze on plants on the bottom. Sap flows are late, most insects are not emerging yet, and birds returning will not find food. We all know the Robins can’t find their March worms yet! If insects do emerge with the warmth, the blossoms are not yet present for them to feed on. Will the pollinators they need be out of sync when the flowers do open?

Persistent ice has starved many dabbling ducks

Those spring ephemeral wildflowers that should be well up by now are still dormant. Will their season be cut short? Will they be able to set seed in time? Will hibernating mammals respond to day length or warming before they emerge, and will there be plants readily available as food sources if the snow has not melted?

In warmer years, Blood Root could have been in bloom now

Think of how cold the water of Long Island Sound has been. We know it will affect our weather along the shore, but how will it affect the migration of fish and horseshoe crabs?

Temperature matters too

It is a delicately balanced web, and the seasonal cycles of temperature and light play a critical part of the balance.

It's a lot to think about. All we can do is continue to make our journal entries of our observations and wait and see what comes next. That is Phenology!

My Chipmunk made an appearance while snow was covering the walls

This Spotted Salamander made his move on March 26

PS: On 3/26 I saw my chipmunk! And the Spotted Salamanders and Wood Frogs began their move!

Photographs by Beth Sullivan.