April 14th.  Red Maple (Acer rubrum) blossoms close up.

 

 

 

Self-portrait in a Wood Frog's eye.  (Rana sylvatica)

 

 

 

 

 

Judd Brook at the Jeremy River junction.

 

 

 

Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) leaves are expanding rapidly.  Note the shriveling inflorescence to the left.  The rank odor and rotten meat color are no coincidence: flies are a primary pollinator.

 

Reindeer Lichen (Cladina rangifera).

 

Witches' Butter or Orange Tremella (Tremella mesenterica), a Jelly Fungus.

 

April 15th. Three Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) atop a favorite perch.

 

Then two.

 

Something going on below?

 

Ah, a Swallow is checking out a nest hole.

 

 

 

April 16th. Fertile stalk of a Horsetail (Equisetum sp.).

 

One of several Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) amid the more common Tree Swallows at the marsh.

 

Territorial displays among the Canada Geese (Branta canadensis).

 

 

 

 

 

April 17th.  The Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens) is in full bloom at last.

 

 

 

Various waterfalls west of River Road.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Culverts like this one play host to lush mosses and ferns.

 

 

 

April 18th.  A male Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula).  A first sighting for Raymond Brook Marsh, which is not to say that they're rare necessarily, only that they're tiny, shy, and constantly on the move.

 

This photo of a Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum) shows the difficulty of getting any photo of these small, active birds that spend their time in dense brush.  Auto-focus has a really tough time picking them out.

 

Even this relatively unobstrcted view is compromised by intervening twigs.

 

April 19th. Often in spring, a Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) will visit the marsh, staying for a day through several weeks.

 

Cleared for take-off.

 

Note in subsequent pictures how distance between foot splashes gets longer as the bird speeds up.

 

 

 

 

 

Wheels up.