I am just as surprised as you are! When are we going to be able to see the flowers and trees start budding and blooming? When are the animals – like amphibians and hibernators – going to start coming out so that the woods can become alive again? The only signs of life are the trees starting to bud, animal tracks, and birds that are starting to migrate back. You can hear the first of the songbirds that have undertaken the long journey here to cold Vermont. Their songs echo through the empty, white forest that is slowly becoming green. Right now you can only see the green of evergreens and some tree buds that are trying to beat out the winter like maples and oaks, however there are no signs of any flowers or plants trying to break through the snow except for little evergreen saplings. Since the nearest edge is about a quarter mile back up the trail to the road, there aren’t really any edge effects which provides an “okay” habitat for many forest interior species. Since the main road is in pretty close proximity, my location does not provide the best habitat for animals like birds and deer who need a good expanse of interior habitat in order to thrive, however, it is far enough away that some habitats are able to be formed within the area. I have posted some photos on the Photos page of this blog site from today, and the drawing below is of a Song Sparrow I saw hanging out by the river bead.
