March 2016- Some Happenings in Nature

Ruddy ducks- some sleeping- with two males with their blue bills, a feature during breeding season

March is the time when we look forward to the arrival of spring and all that goes with it. Days are getting longer and the birds are now singing their spring morning songs. Usually on of the first plants to bloom, Whitlow grass bloomed in February this year and should be done by now. Magnolia buds are swelling and forsythia bloom is on the cusp. Of course, deer are still nibbling on plants like arborvitae, with or without snow covering the ground. Sometimes this means war- either fencing or deer spray to keep the trees from having little or nothing at the bottom.

Arborvitae hedge with fencing to stop browsing deer

On March 8-9 this year we will witness a moon event called (unscientifically) a super new moon. This new moon will happen one day before the moon reaches its closest point to the earth in its orbit- the lunar perigee. While we will not be able to see this supermoon, as it lines up with the sun it causes a greater effect on our oceans. Perigees and apogees (when the moon is at its furthest point from the earth) occur because of the elliptical orbit of the moon. Low tide on Monday along the Connecticut coast was the lowest I have seen in a long time. So that will be why tides are extreme the next couple of days.

diagram courtesy of science.nasa.gov

March is a good time to go on birdwatching jaunts along coast. Long Island Sound and salt water marshes, estuaries and ponds are good places to look for migratory waterfowl. This week there were buffleheads, scaups, merganzers, and other birds that will migrate north later on to breed. At the causeway in Saybrook there was a flock of ruddy ducks that numbered over one hundred. These tiny, compact ducks are noted for their long, stiff tails that they often stick up in the air while swimming or resting on the water. Breeding males sport a distinctive blue bill and a white cheek. These are diving ducks that feed at night on aquatic invertebrates and insect larvae. During the day they sleep on the water with their heads tucked over their back and under a wing.

Ruddy ducks with their spiffy tails pointing up.

In the town of Lyme there is a restoration project to restore a natural river channel by removing the Ed bills Pond Dam that has been there for almost 80 years. This restored habitat along the East Branch of the Eight-mile River will allow migratory fish such as alewife, blueback herring Atlantic salmon and others to have optimum passage for spawning without using the fish ladder that was put in when the dam existed. Many dams put in years ago along Connecticut rivers still may prevent fish from reaching their original spawning habitats, but this project is a good step in the right direction.

Restoration project in Lyme for fish to return to their spawning habitat without having to swim up fish ladders

If the weather stays warm, Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis L.) may start to bloom. One of our first native flowers to bloom, this is a member of the Poppy Family, and has roots and a stem with red- orange color. Its genus comes from the Latin word for bleeding- Sanguinarius. In late March or early April, the flower bud is wrapped in its single leaf and usually the flower opens before the leaf completely unfolds. Marsh marigolds should also begin showing a flush of green in or near streams and brooks. soon after, the yellow flowers should appear before much else has even begun to leaf out around them.

Bloodroot

I, for one, am tired of the monochromatic browns and grays of the winter landscape, and welcome even the smallest changes that signal a return to warmer weather and the leafing out that goes with it. So here’s hoping winter continues its departure with a short good-bye so that spring can herald its return with its colorful green foliage and floral accessories.And spring peepers were heard Wednesday and Thursday night at a little pond at the end of my street, so spring is on the way for sure.

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