These are some of the things to watch for as the world comes back into bloom.

MAY 2

Palm Warblers begin nesting on or near the ground, concealed by moss or tall grass. Look for them bobbing their tails from low perches. They pick most insects from the ground or low shrubs, but also catch insects while flying.

MAY 5

Mayfly larvae that have spent most of their lives as aquatic insects, mature and begin swarming the skies. This will happen throughout the summer as well. As adults, the females will only live a matter of minutes, while the males can live up to two days.

MAY 6

The Eta Aquarids meteor shower peaks tonight. It is one of the more active meteor showers producing up to 30 meteors per hour coming from the dust left behind by Halley’s Comet.

MAY 7

Ruby-throated Hummingbird females are building their nests. They weave spider web silk and plant materials together to make the expandable base, lining it with soft plant down. The outside is camouflaged with lichen and leaves.

MAY 10

Look for Star Nosed Mole mounds underwater. They are the only semi-aquatic mole in CT and will sometimes swim to catch aquatic insects and fish for food. Since they are almost blind, they sense their food using 100,000 nerve endings in their star shaped appendage on their nose and can smell underwater!

MAY 14

Lilacs are in full bloom. These non-native flowering shrubs are a classic New England spring plant.

MAY 16

Lady Slippers, a native orchid, are in bloom. They take many years to grow from seed to flowering plant and can live 20 years or more!

MAY 18

The warbler migration is at its peak. Keep a lookout for these small, often colorful, insect eating birds. They have made a long trip to get here, arriving from Central and South America.

MAY 21

White-throated sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Pine Siskins are just some of our wintering bird species that are leaving to migrate north.

MAY 21

White-throated sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, and Pine Siskins are just some of our wintering bird species that are leaving to migrate north.

MAY 30

Yellow-breasted Chats are building their nests in dense shrubs and thickets. This is our largest warbler, but can still be very hard to spot. Listen out for its unique call made of a series of chattering, chortling, trills and hoots..