April 19th. Frost at 27 degrees. (April?)

 

Frost on the invasive Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata).

 

Cherry, Plum, Pear?  Rosaceae at least.  (I couldn't identify it in 2017, 2018, or 2019 and still don't know.  Help?)

 

Very frosty.

 

A pair of Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) circled the marsh and flew off.

 

 

 

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor).

 

 

 

Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos).

 

 

 

A male Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris).

 

Note the Bullhead Lily (Nuphar vareigatum) bud in the foreground.

 

Mist rising.

 

A young hawk perched right beside the trail.

 

Larry, another photographer on the trail this morning, thought it was a Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus).

 

When Larry saw it, it was eating a snake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 20th. Boo!

 

First open Purple Trillium (Trillium erectum).

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, I still don't have an ID for this single flowering shrub at the marsh.

 

 

 

 

 

April 21st. On chilly mornings like this, the male Red-winged Blackbirds' (Agelaius phonecius) calls dominate the soundscape.

 

If you know the call, take a moment now and "play it" in your imagination.
(If you don't know it in memory, it's here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-winged_Blackbird/sounds)

 

 

 

Now, "play it" again.

 

Again?

 

...and again!

 

A tiny Dog Violet (Viola labradorica).

 

 

 

Next stop, the marsh east of Route 207. Lots of Yellow-rumped "Myrtle" Warblers (Dendroicas coronata). This one sat for me.

 

Yellow rump. Got it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A female Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) far across the pond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and the usual pair of Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris).