Nature Passages
April 08
There's never enough time in an April week for those who appreciate nature. Migratory birds arrive, flowers bloom, amphibians fall in and out of love within days. Action in nature is here and it's now, to be gone in just a speck of time. Nature is reveling in the increased day length, full steam ahead for all life in this time of solar enrichment.
The Stone House bluebirds have settled into a home somewhere, but they keep to themselves, as their nest is constructed. Something of a housewarming party was thrown in early April as 3 pairs of bluebirds sang and carried-on outside the Stone House. Could they have had a taste of fermented fruit? Or, maybe they, like humankind, were thrilled to enjoy blue skies and warm temperatures.
The meadowlarks, savannah sparrows, barn and tree swallows arrived this month to the meadow areas of Liberty Park. The meadowlarks are a treat, as they sing from dawn to dusk, one of the most beautiful songs of any member of the blackbird clan. I watched the first barn swallow of the season, shivering on the electrical wires one cold morning, a difficult time for an insect eating bird, when it's mostly too cold for insects. "Mostly" is the key word here, for stoneflies and midges, amongst other tiny insects do emerge in early April, often to become survival food for their predators.
A pair of American kestrels have haunted the meadows at Liberty park in early April. The smallest of our falcons, their speed surpasses the fleeting flight of tree swallows, which taunt the kestrels at every opportunity. Kestrels are not common in Twinsburg. None have nested in Liberty Park as yet but there is promise in the pair's actions. Perhaps they'll be the first, as permanent grassland now attracts this insect predator. Once called the sparrow hawk, I haven't failed to notice that the house sparrows are not attempting to use the bluebird houses in the meadow, now that the kestrels enjoy them as perches. The kestrels will occasionally take small birds but thrive on grasshoppers and small rodents, dropping upon them from above, after hovering in place to scan the grasses for morsel movement.
I was pleased to see a favorite, early springtime wildflower blooming in Center Valley Park in mid April. This plant, called pepper and salt, or harbinger of spring, is a tiny one, which requires close observation to see the beauty in its miniature white flowers. Though demure, this member of the parsley family is an appreciated bright spot on an otherwise drab, early April forest floor. This is one of the lone survivors of what once must have been woodland bedecked with wildflowers, in a time before the ravages of the overpopulated whitetail deer herd. Only its low stature seems to protect it, though a chemical substance within may do the same, as several of its' cousins have poisonous properties.
April beckons us to be outdoors; heed it's invitation. For very little gas burned, a hike awaits in the in the springtime outdoors of Twinsburg's parks. Nature's April-action can't be beat.
Submitted by Stanley Stine, Naturalist
"There are many stories in nature, but only experience allows us to read them all."
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