Author Archives: Jim Sirch

On a walk recently I noticed one of the first native shrubs to flower this spring—Spicebush (Lindera benzoin). Its small, yellowish-green flowers really stood out among the sea of bare branches. Spicebush is dioecious, with male flowers on one plant and female flowers on another. If you find this plant, you can really only identifyContinue reading “Put a Little Spice in Your Life”

Last summer I pulled up a bunch of Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) that has invaded the edges of my property with a vengeance. It is rather easy to pull the entire plant, roots and all. But what I didn’t realize was that I was also pulling up its 50-year seed bank and that one plantContinue reading “If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Eat ‘Em”

Soon waves of migrating neotropical birds will pass through our area. They will be feeding furiously on hatching insects in the tree tops this May, but some have already arrived and have been here for weeks. Eastern Phoebes (Sayornis phoebe) flew in from the southern United States and from as far south as Mexico, whereContinue reading “They’re Here Already”

I look forward each year to looking along streams to find one of my favorite spring wildflowers soon to be in bloom—Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris). But it has an exotic cousin, a look-alike that threatens its existence and that of other native spring ephemerals such as Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) and Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica).Continue reading “Marsh Marigold, or Perhaps Not?”

Last fall I planted snowdrops (Galanthus spp.) and crocus (Crocus spp.) to have very early blooms available for the first pollinators that hatch in the spring. Even though these are not native, they do provide early nectar and pollen sources for native solitary bees. This would be before native plants such as Pussy Willow (SalixContinue reading “A Powerful Pollinator”

During the brief interlude of spring-like weather we had recently, even with patches of snow still on the ground, I spotted a butterfly flitting through the forest. It was a Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), named long ago for its dark-brownish black wings colored like the cloak of a person in mourning. How could this butterflyContinue reading “Live Long and Prosper”

Labrador Twister. Bogsucker. Mudsnipe. Hokumpoke. Timberdoodle. These are just some of the colorful names for the American Woodcock (Scolopax minor), a robin-sized, inland shorebird whose courtship displays, unknown to most of us, are an amazing spring phenomenon. It’s now time to listen for them. Newly arrived from its wintering grounds in the southern United States,Continue reading “Behold the Timberdoodle”

At this time of year many of us are on the lookout for whatever signs of spring we can find. The first true, native wildflower of spring, Eastern Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), has been in bloom among swamps and streams for weeks now. But the first harbingers of spring in many of our yards andContinue reading “A Flower Called Hope”

It’s been a snowy February. But it’s late winter and there is a thaw beginning this week with daytime temperatures in the 40s (4 to 10 degrees C). While the snow remains, it’s a good time to take a walk and see what wildlife has been up to. Many mammals in our area are activeContinue reading “Stories in the Snow”

At this time of year, the bare branches of winter reveal secrets unseen in summer’s leafy canopy. It’s a good time to see where nature’s drilling crews, the woodpeckers, have done their work. There are seven species of woodpecker in Connecticut, and they all excavate cavities in trees to nest. Because of habitat loss, oneContinue reading “Pecking Order”