The general theme of April in Arms Forest is Spring starting to emerge. There are buds breaking on many of the trees and some flowers starting to pop up. Additionally, herbaceous plants are popping up and shrubs are leafing out. The main difference I noticed, however, is the amount of birds that are active. I am still working on my bird ID so I am not sure that I got everything I was hearing, but I heard much more bird chirping and was able to identify at least five species. Activity is still low, but there is movement in the air and you can tell that significant changes are starting to happen. The birds I was able to identify were the Black Capped Chickadee, White Breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, Downey Woodpecker, American Crow, and I think an American Robin. The birds seem to be interacting with each other a lot, and more actively looking for food. I saw the Chickadees flying around with one another and potentially looking for food, as well as the Woodpecker pecking at trees probably in search of food. I did not see any scat, but I spotted a Fisher and Red Fox leisurely strolling along. They did not seem like they were in any rush getting anywhere, so maybe they were starting to wind down for the evening. Additionally, there was more squirrel activity than my last visit. More activity and observations include seeing many more insects such as flies and a bumble bee, as well as either a newt or salamander! In terms of human activity, the trails seemed much more used as of late, and I saw a lot of people walking.
Above are different forms of herbaceous growth popping up
