February 25th. The male Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) are back!

 

Great to hear their calls as a sure sign of Spring coming.

 

 

 

Note the Red Maple (Acer rubrum) buds. I saw some on the ground so maybe one bird or another is eating them.

 

 

 

Over the next weeks, there will be more and they'll be closer and nearer to the ground.

 

February 26th. A lot of melting in open areas, but still a tough go in the wooded areas.

 

A distant male Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) closer to the ground today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura).

 

 

 

At Cranberry Bog a Honey Bee (Apis mellifera), caught out by the cold and dead on the ice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three sheep at the little farmyard just east of Cranberry Bog.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 28th. With sun and temps at or well above 32 degrees, most areas of the trail are ice free (excluding some wooded and/or shaded areas).

 

I'm not sure what shrub has the bright red stems but they offer some well appreciated color these days. Paul Colburn suggests Red Osier Dogwood shrubs (Cornus sericea). Sounds good to me.

 

The marsh remains mostly iced over, though some sections on the channel side are open, and...

 

...there were a few Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in shallow open water amid invasive Common Reed (Phragmites australis).