A Spring Walk

The weather has included a lot of rain in these past few days, and there is more coming.  Temperatures are still cool at night, but getting quite warm during the day, contributing to unstable air, thunderstorms, and tornado watches.  Vegetation in our area is green and lush, inviting for the many species that inhabit our area.  I hope you enjoy the sounds and pictures of spring and some of the inviting observations we can look forward to in the near future.

And now that warmer weather is here to stay, both eastern garter snakes, Thamnophis sirtalis, and plains garter snakes, Thamnophis radix, are moving away from their winter dens and dispersing into woods and fields.

Golden Alexanders, Zizia aurea, and celandine poppy, Stylophorum diphyllum, are making a bright yellow welcoming splash for the next several weeks. 

Weather always plays a large role in late spring in northern Illinois.  A good thunderstorm can bring wonderful, soaking rains or wind and lightning to drive us indoors. 

Many species depend on water in ephemeral ponds at this time of year, including frogs, toads and salamanders.  First to call are chorus frogs, Pseudacris maculata, then gray tree frogs, Hyla versicolor, and finally bullfrogs, Lithobates catesbeianus, call well into summer. 

Green dragons, Arisaema dracontium, and their close relative, Jack-In-The-Pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum, are already standing tall 

Other species to begin to watch for in the coming weeks include bumblebees gathering pollen from flora of all species and Eastern black swallowtail caterpillars, Papilio polyxenes asterius, destined to fly away at summer’s end. 

I hope you are able to observe these and many other sights in the coming weeks on your neighborhood walk or in local forest preserves.