May 17, 2020 - Signs of Spring

Spring has arrived in the north woods and here are some signs of spring.

The book “Butterflies of the North Woods” says that the Mourning Cloak is usually the first butterfly seen in spring. That’s because it overwinters as an adult and doesn’t have to go through the egg/caterpillar/chrysalis/adult butterfly process; it just comes out of hibernation. This photo was taken on April 27, making this the first butterfly I saw this spring. The Mourning Cloak has a wingspan of 3 to 4 inches. Its dark wings with the cream-colored border give it a very distinctive look.

MourningCloakNymphalisantiopaDunningLakeminingroadItascaCounty20200427

This Gray Comma was the second butterfly I saw this spring, also on April 27. It also overwinters as an adult. With a wingspan of about 2 inches, it is noticeably smaller than the Mourning Cloak. Although not visible in this photo, part of its name comes from a small white mark on the brown underside of the wings. That mark looks like a comma.

MothCommaGrayPolygoniaprogneDunningLakeminingroadItascaCounty20200427

Bloodroot is one of the early blooming plants that grow on the forest floor. In order to get enough sunlight, they emerge and bloom before the leaves appear on trees and shrubs. Notice how the leaves wrap around the flower stem as if to protect it. The name Bloodroot comes from the red juice that is in the roots but also in all other parts of the plant. It was used by Native Americans as a dye.

BloodrootDunningLakeminingroadItascasounty20200513

Another early bloomer is the Round-lobed Hepatica. It’s one of the flowers that are referred to as “spring ephemerals” because the flowers last only a few days or, in some cases, only one day.

HepaticaRoundlobedDunningLakeItascaCounty20200514

Most of our Round-lobed Hepaticas are white, but we do have some that are purple. They can also be pink.

HepaticaRoundlobedDunningLakeItascaCounty20200516

We always look forward to seeing Marsh Marigolds around this time of the year. They grow in damp places and are often found in wet ditches along the road.

MarigoldMarshDunningLakeminingroadItascaCounty20200510

Spring bird migration is in full swing right now and one of the early arrivals was this Hermit Thrush. There are 3 or 4 thrushes that have a similar appearance and can be hard to tell apart. But the reddish tail on this bird easily identifies it as a Hermit Thrush. New birds are arriving daily so you can be sure I will have more bird photos for you!

ThrushHermitDunningLakeItascaCounty20200508

This photo isn’t really about a sign of spring, but I just had to share it with you. I have written before about having Red Squirrels for the entire 25 years that we’ve had our lake home. We would occasionally see a Gray Squirrel, but it’s only in the last four years that we’ve regularly seen two of them here. Now, we also have a black squirrel! It’s actually a Gray Squirrel species with a gene mutation that makes its fur dark. It’s estimated that only one in 10,000 Gray Squirrels have black fur, so I think it’s quite unusual for us to get one here. I must admit I think it is cuter than the ones with gray fur.

SquirrelGrayBlackcolormorphDunningLakeItascaCounty20200509