The rain held off enough this morning for a walk at the Miller Forest tract of the Trustees of Reservations Peaked Mountain reservation. The birds are mostly “hearings” instead of sightings. There were a lot of bluejays today and a couple of pine warblers. I heard ovenbirds in 3 different places, and a black-throated green warbler once, as well as a blue-headed vireo at about the same place. Several ferns were in fiddlehead or starting to unfurl, including hay-scented, new shoots of Christmas fern, sensitive fern and a few interrupted ferns. Starflowers, dwarf ginseng, and one of the bellworts were out. I did not stop to look closely enough at the bellwort to see which kind. Blueberries were also flowering. The vernal pond had 4 salamander egg masses and 1 old wood frog mass.

The green colors were vibrant in the overcast light. A very pleasant walk. Everything is now getting plenty of water after a dry spell in April and many days of fire warnings from the weather service. Once we get the heat back next week things should really take off.

Christmas fern fiddleheads

The recent wet weather was ideal conditions for mosses and other low-growing plants. The cloudy skies create soft even lighting