Very young plantain leaves are good in salads; soon they will become stringy. Tree bats are returning; migration may be synchronized with the first moth hatches of spring. The veery nests being built now incorporate a base of dead leaves and are large compared to the size of the bird. Baby opossums will be weaned soon. Their first 60 days were spent in the mother’s pouch. Starflower, a low plant that is found in the north all around the globe, is blooming.

Showy orchis is flowering in rich, deciduous woods; yellow lady’s slippers in moist woods and marshes. The chestnut-sided warbler has a long, chestnut-colored stripe down its side and is singing “pleased pleased pleased to meetcha” from shrubby or edge habitat. A single brown thrasher may have 2,000 songs in his repertoire. White-tailed deer have gained weight on lowland herbs and are headed back up to higher terrain. 

“Swallows fly high, clear blue skies. Swallows fly low, prepare for a blow”. Clintonia, a lovely yellow lily of cool, acidic soils, is beginning to bloom. It’s also called bluebead lily, for its fruits. Blackfly larvae that haven’t been eaten by other insect larvae or trout are emerging as adults. "Weety weety weet chew" is the signature tune of the magnolia warbler. Male hummingbirds arrive, usually about a week before the females. The rhubarb is ready.