April 10th. Net-winged Beetle (Family Lycidae, Dictyoptera aurora). Cleared for take-off.
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Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe).
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Male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) grooming.
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He was one of four hanging out together.
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Hummocks are totally green now.
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A pair of Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) flying by fast.
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Late afternoon at Cranberry Bog, a Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is nesting...
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...on the same little island...
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...that geese have used for many years.
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April 12th. A male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) balancing on a reed stem.
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American Robin (Turdus migratorius).
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A pair of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) are at the marsh, but no sign of a nest.
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I had a brief view of an American Beaver (Castor canadensis).
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Green leaves of Watercress (Nasturtium officinale) in a trail side ditch...
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...with fallen Red Maple blossoms makes a nice arrangement.
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Highbush Cranberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) is starting to bloom.
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American Hazelnut (Corylus americana) male catkins and pinkish red female flowers.
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The female flowers are about the smallest things my camera can capture.
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Cherry, Plum, Pear? Rosaceae at least. I couldn't identify it in 2017, 2018, 2019, or 2020 and still didn't know...
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...until UConn's Dr. Sarah Taylor came through with an ID for me today. It's Cherry Plum, Prunus cerasifera.
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Periwinkle or Myrtle (Vinca minor).
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Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia, the garden hybrid between F. suspensa and F. viridissima) at the Route 85 parking area.
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Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens) is better than I've ever seen on the trail - west of the Brownstone bridge.
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Note the Chironomid Midge sheltering inside the flower.
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