April 30th. Serviceberry or Shadbush (Amelanchier arborea).

 

Red Maple (Acer rubrum) seeds have developed.

 

Common Oak Sedge or Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica).

 

May 1st. Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) leaves are just beginning to show.  Still tiny, they are already potent with the oil that gives us a rash.

 

Look for it climbing trees as well as along the edges of the trail.

 

Jack-in-the Pulpit (Arisaema atrorubens).

 

 

 

A mystery plant.

 

Looks a bit like a small ear of corn.

 

As it expands, it will reveal itself to be either Solomon's-seal (Polygonatum biflorum) pictured here, or the similar False Solomon's-seal (Smilacina racemosa).

 

These downy fern fiddleheads remind me of swans' heads.

 

 

 

 

 

Many Violets (Viola sp.) are blooming now.

 

 

 

 

 

Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius).

 

 

 

Common Strawberry (Fragraria virginiana).

 

 

 

Pond or Bullhead Lily (Nuphar vareigatum).  The yellow flowers are a favorite food of Beavers.

 

 

 

This tiny moth caught my attention as it tight-rope walked a spider's silken thread.

 

 

 

Fertile stalk of a Horsetail (Equisetum sp.).

 

May 2nd.  Here are the vegetative stalks, covered in dew.

 

First Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula) male sighting on the trail this year.

 

Yellow Warblers (Dendroica petechia) are very active now, in pairs.

 

 

 

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) prepares to land.