Outdoor Almanac Spring 2010

The Outdoor Almanac is excerpted from Mass Audubon's Sanctuary magazine, which is sent to members four times a year.

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March 20
Vernal equinox, first day of spring. Days and nights are equal length.

March 23
Listen for the trill of song sparrows.

March 26
Phoebes and fox sparrows arrive about this time.

March 28
Listen for spring peepers about this date.

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April 7
Field sparrows come back.

April 13
Tree swallows have returned.

April 19
In wooded areas, listen for the muffled drum call of ruffed grouse.

April 21
Shadbush blooms; look for the white flowers against the brown, leafless trees.

April 24
Watch the wooded swamps for nesting wood ducks.

April 27
Listen for the trill of toads from nearby swamps and marshes.

April 29
Watch for returning towhees, brown thrashers, house wrens, barn swallows, and chimney swifts.

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May 6
Trout lilies, columbine, trillium, and other woodland wildflowers are still in bloom. Watch them now before the trees leaf out.

May 7
Northern orioles and catbirds come back. Watch for spring azure butterflies in the garden.

May 13
Bobolinks are active in hayfields and meadows.

May 15
This is generally the height of the spring warbler migration.Watch the treetops and shrubbery at dawn and dusk for migrating birds. Listen for the dawn chorus.

May 23
Watch for painted turtles and snapping turtles as they move onto dry land to lay their eggs.

May 25
Broad-winged hawks return, along with the scarlet tanagers and rose-breasted grosbeaks.

May 29
Dogwood flowers.

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June 6
Listen for the bullfrog chorus from freshwater marshes and ponds.

June 9
Field wildflowers begin to bloom around this date. Sulphur butterflies emerge.

June 11
Watch for fireflies in grassy areas.

June 19
Baby birds appear about this time; look for them on lawns and in shrubbery. Most seemingly lost babies are not orphans; parents are nearby.

June 21
Summer solstice.

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