April
April is the first full month of spring…a time when animals are more active and plants, trees, and flowers bloom and flourish. In the Freetown-Fall River State Forest, many birds, especially robins, sparrows, cardinals, blue jays, and woodpeckers. They are forming nests and catching food for themselves and their young while singing loudly. Rabbits and squirrels have been seen running around also finding food and enjoying the warmer weather. The mud in some areas of the forest displaying squirrel and rabbit tracks. No signs of deer, including tracks, were found, but they are known for living in the southeastern portion of Massachusetts. They are also slightly more active in the winter when they are on the hunt for hard-to-find food sources. The warmer seasons bring a sense of calm to the deer who live long, stressful winters. Chipmunks were found throughout the forest when I was recently exploring the forest, but not in large numbers. Many insects were seen on the forest floor, leaves, and the bark of trees. Most are inactive during the winter and expose themselves once spring emerges in order to find food and reproduce. Caterpillars usually go through metamorphosis and emerge from cocoons as butterflies or moths in the springtime as well.
Buds on the trees in the forest were much larger and colorful than in March, especially on the red maples. Not many other species of trees and plants had changes besides the plentiful red maple and red oak trees. Some white oak and other maple trees were seen as well with similar changes to the red maple and red oak. Leaves on ferns and small trees/plants were vibrant and more plentiful than in the colder seasons. due to more sunlight and rain.