The Wild Side: We and wildlife welcome spring!

THE WILD SIDE

By Maria de Bruyn
Columnist

As the month of March progressed, so did the springtime instincts of our wildlife neighbors. Insects emerged, while trees, shrubs and other plants resumed growing. Migrating birds were leaving and arriving, and the animals again had more dietary options.

The reptiles were busy. A pair of large snapping turtles engaged in what seemed like very vigorous mating at Sandy Creek Park. They were busy for quite a long time but appeared pleased with the results (photo above). These large reptiles spend much of their time submerged at the bottom of ponds; they can stay there for extended periods and spend most of their time alone.

Left: Eastern cottontail rabbit. Middle: Eastern chipmunk. Right: Eastern gray squirrel. All photos by © Maria de Bruyn.

My resident Eastern cottontail rabbit is spending much more time out in the open munching on ground plants. The Eastern chipmunks are also coming out from their underground burrows and feast on fallen bird seed. The Eastern gray squirrels have been happy to see budding flowers on trees, on which they dine extensively.

Top left: hermit thrush. Top right: yellow-bellied sapsucker. Bottom left: white-throated sparrow. Bottom right: Wilson’s snipes. All photos by © Maria de Bruyn.

The migratory birds are on the move. Winter residents like the hermit thrush, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, white-throated sparrows and Wilson’s snipes have left on their migratory journeys or will soon do so.

Top left: Eastern bluebird assessing nest box. Middle: Carolina chickadee nest with moss and cattail fluff. Top right: Carolina chickadee still checking out the chosen nest box. Bottom left: courting American crows. Bottom right: male house finch feeding mate. All photos by © Maria de Bruyn.

Spring is always an entertaining season for birders who watch birds getting ready to expand their families. The Eastern bluebirds and Carolina chickadees in my yard have visited various nest boxes to decide where they would raise a family. Last year, the bluebirds nested three times (in a different box each time), producing 14 offspring over the summer!

The chickadees finally chose an older nestbox, which will need to be replaced for next year. They were not happy with a gap above the entryway and visited other boxes but finally made a lovely nest of moss. This year they also did a bit of interior decorating, making the nest especially cozy by installing cattail fluff (from plants growing in a garden tub) around the top.

Other birds are still courting. The American crows, who nest elsewhere in the neighborhood, visit regularly as they are very fond of the grape jelly that I put out for them. Part of their courtship ritual involves the male feeding the female. If he first dines himself, she calls to him loudly to encourage his courting behavior. The male house finch has been diligent in feeding his mate bits of seed (that she can easily pick out feeders herself!).

Left: blue-gray gnatcatcher on almost completed nest. Middle: long-time breeding ospreys on nest to which they return yearly. Right: new osprey pair constructing a nest. All photos by © Maria de Bruyn.

Out at the NC game lands, a pair of blue-gray gnatcatchers put finishing touches on their beautiful cup-shaped nest. A returning pair of ospreys, who have nested on a tower for several years, was joined this year by a second pair building a nest on another tower. That bodes well for those of us who enjoy watching the growing families and seeing these graceful birds hovering over the lake to catch their fish.

It looks to be an entertaining season for wildlife observation this year, both in my yard and elsewhere. Readers who would like to share interesting wildlife sightings are most welcome to do so in the comments section.

Maria de Bruyn participates in nature-oriented citizen science projects, volunteers for the Orange County Senior Center and coordinates a nature-themed book club. See more of her photos on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bruynmariade/), Blue Sky (@mdb2024.bsky.social), and in blogs at https://mybeautifulworldblog.com. This reporter can be reached at information@thelocalreporter.press.