May has finally arrived!

The blossums are starting to show on the fruit trees. All over the region the spring peepers are still singing in wetlands. Turtles are emerging from the bottom of ponds and are catching a few rays on sunny afternoons. The purple martins are returning to their northern nesting colonies. In the woodlands, Ovenbirds are singing their song “teacher, teacher teacher”.

Be sure to put out your hummingbird feeders with fresh sugar water (1 part sugar to 4 parts water). They are showing up at backyard feeders. And the Baltimore Orioles are back. They are crazy for grape jelly. Be sure it is the kind with sugar. They don’t worry about their waistline. Their stunning black and orange colors always catch your attention. They also have very distinctive loud vocalizations that once learned, you will never forget.

The dreaded lawn mower season is returning. But remember the humble dandelion is one of the earliest blooming flowers and critical for pollinators to get an early start on their season of insuring fruit trees and all vegetable crops are productive. Much of the honey produced in the spring locally comes when bees visit the flowers at the treetops of maple, birch, elm and others but dandelions show up first.

Click the image to download your own copy of our May Nature Notes