JANUARY

Look for:

• Animal tracks in the snow
• Vole tunnels in the snow
• Snow fleas at the base of trees
• Great Horned Owls sitting on stolen nests high in the tree tops
• Juncos, Chickadees and Doves at the feeders and, with luck, a Tufted Titmouse

Listen for:

• The owls hooting at sunset
• The tapping sounds of various woodpeckers looking for insects and larvae hidden in the bark of trees
• The silence when snow blankets the woods

   

FEBRUARY

Look for:

• Blue Spotted Salamanders moving toward ephemeral (temporary) ponds
• Antlers shed by bucks and chewed up by rodents for their calcium and lime
• Spiles (taps) in the maple trees as the sap starts flowing
• Squirrels racing and chasing during this first mating season of the year
• Bluebirds and Red-winged Blackbirds returning

Listen for:

• The two-note mating call of the Black Capped Chickadee
• Crows making a grand racket - it often means there is an owl nearby that they are harassing

MARCH

Look for:

• Maple sap icicles hanging on the broken branches of maple trees
• Leeks poking through the forest floor
• Skunk cabbage leaves emerging
• Squirrels eating maple and elm buds
• Cranes and Geese flying north
• New lambs in the pasture
• Chipmunks venturing out of their homes looking fr food
• Woodland frogs ending their hibernation

Listen for:

• The Chorus Frog and Spring Peepers announcing warmer days
• Sap dripping into the pails hanging on the maple trees
• The cheer-cheer call of the Cardinal

APRIL

Look for:

• The early spring flowers, hepatica, marsh marigold, spring beauty, bluebells and more
• Great Blue Herons and Wood Ducks along the river
• The first migrants appear - the Kinglets, Brown Creepers, and some Warblers
• Snakes and toads appear from hibernation - be alert - snakes like to sun themselves near the trails
• Bluebirds setting territories in the many houses set out for them
• Carp swimming in the backwaters and shallows

Listen for:

• The Robin's song - some spend the winter here, but most have returned from their southern homes
• Other bird songs - how many species can you identify by their song?

MAY

Look for:

• Tassel-like flowers on oak trees; seeds on elms
• An explosion of flowers: trillium, trout lily, mayapple, wild ginger, jack-in-the-pulpit, wood anenome, spring beauty and of course violets
• Fawns - their dappled markings help them blend into their environment
• Warblers everywhere (37 species have been seen here); many stop for a short period to eat and rest before continuing north

Listen for:

• The buzz of bees busily gathering pollen to feed their young
• Bird songs
• The wind in the trees

JUNE

Look for:

• The prairie flowers now: spiderwort, lobelia, yarrow, butterfly-weed and various milkweeds
• Butterflies arrive - the Monarch up from Mexico and its mimic, the Viceroy
• Nesting birds - some warblers stay here
• Can you find the Goldenwinged, Bluewinged and Hooded Warblers?
• Baby ground hogs - often seen near Brushwood

Listen for:

• The call of the lovely Catbird: cat-like meows interspersed with musical, squeaky and nasal notes
• The Wood Thrush singing late in the day
• The beaver slapping its tail on the river at night

JULY

Look for:

• Fireflies over the fields at dusk
• Queen Anne's lace, white sweet clover, fleabane and bergamot in the meadows
• Baby birds trailing after their parents
• Leeks blooming on leafless stems in the woods
• Bats active at dusk
• Cicadas emerge this month - look for their exoskeletons clinging to tree trunks
• The courtship displays of the Monarch butterflies

Listen for:

• The hum of the cicadas - the hotter the day, the louder the hum
• Crickets begin singing now - it's the males' way of wooing their mates
• The rattling call of the Kingfisher and the peeps of the Spotted Sandpiper along the river

AUGUST

Look for:

• Dragonflies dashing over the fields
• Holes along the paths that are nesting sites for various wasps
• Chipmunks running about - those with thin tails are the babies
• Indian pipe and jewel weed blooming along the roadsides
• Birds and chipmunks feeding on ripe elderberries, grapes and sumac berries
• Joe-Pye weed, coneflowers, rattlesnake master and the first of the goldenrods and asters blooming

Listen for:

• The pee-a-wee call of the Eastern Wood Pewee as this small flycatcher sits on a horizontal branch watching for insects
• The cluck of the chipmunk, its way of communicating with others

SEPTEMBER

Look for:

• Robins flocking in anticipation of heading south
• The warblers passing through
• Big bluestem grass, black-eyed Susans, goldenrod and asters in the meadows
• Wooly bear caterpillars moving about looking for sites under logs where they will winter
• Mushrooms on the forest floor, the largest you might find is the giant puffball
• Great Blue Herons, standing along the river's edge waiting and watching for prey

Listen for:

• Grasshoppers calling
• Bluejays making a grand racket in the tree tops
• The different sounds of the wind as it moves through dry leaves and grasses

OCTOBER

Look for:

• Cranes and geese heading south - Cranes look like flying crosses with their necks and legs extended
• Leaves turning orange and gold and blanketing the forest floor
• The milkweed and butterfly-weed pods in the meadow that have split open, allowing their seeds to fly away on silken fibers
• Snakes on the trails enjoying the last warm days before hibernation

Listen for:

• The rattling croaking call of the cranes which can be heard for miles
• The wheezy sound of the Cedar Waxwings as they travel from one berry-bearing plant to another

NOVEMBER

Look for:

• Bucks - this is rutting, or mating season for deer - be alert and you may witness a buck being challenged
• Bird nests, now visible with the leaves down - did you see them last summer?
• Chipmunks and squirrels busy foraging for food before the snow arrives
• Fungi on tree stumps, branches and fallen logs
• More information on all you see in the Ryerson library - come in and warm up

Listen for:

• Owls hooting at dusk
• The yank, yank, yank call of the White Breasted Nuthatch - this little bird flies to the top of the tree and then hops head first down the trunk, looking for food in bark crevices

DECEMBER

Look for:

• Cattail seeds being dispersed from the brown tails of the plants near Ryerson's entrance
• Goldenrod galls in the field - one-inch balls surrounding the plant stem and hiding a wasp larva inside
• Animal tracks in the snow
• The winter birds around the feeders - except for the Cardinal, notice the muted colors of the birds that stay here
• The Sharp-Shinned and Cooper's Hawks that prey on the birds at the feeder

Listen for:

• The quiet of the woods after a snow
• The call of the birds - expecially clear on cold days

Copyright 2001-08
Pustelnik Designs and Friends of Ryerson Woods