Spring Along the Haw River NC

I have just returned from six months in FL to my summer home in the NC Piedmont along the Haw River floodplain.  I fortunately missed the deluge of pine pollen and most trees are already leafed out.  The recent century of history of my 50 acres is often revealed by a consideration of tree species and age.  For example along this old farm land there is a 40 year old pine growth on the left side on a former field with hardwoods such as sweetgum and tulip tree coming up fast.  Farming on a large scale was mostly abandoned by 1920 allowing for growth of trees, first the shade intolerant pines followed by shade tolerant hardwoods.  Tree regeneration was possible then as not now since the deer population was considerably inhibited by hunting.  Thus there are a few truly giant hardwoods present such as this massive 80-100 year old water oak.  Such a remarkable regeneration of the hardwood forest will not happen again unless there is a severe decrease in the herbivorous deer population.

Temperatures in mid- to late April are extremely variable, ranging from freezing at dawn on April 20-21 to upper 80’s on many afternoons.  I show a photograph of a thermometer just outside my window on one of the frost days and you will notice that the temperature is near 37 F, yet it was freezing just a few hundred yards away in an open field not protected by overhanging tree branches.  Thus fig trees in the open froze to the ground whereas my figs under a tree canopy are nearly fully leafed out.  So microclimates make a huge difference this time of year!

Although I miss seeing many flowers such as dogwoods and redbuds by returning in middle April, there are many plants in bloom.  The non-native azaleas are just finishing blooming and provide nectar to bees and butterflies.  The native crossvine is very common but flowers are primarily displayed high up on the trunks of trees.  These are a staple source of food for hummingbirds just returned from the tropics.  Blackberries are in full bloom, promising many juicy fruits to come for humans and animals.  A rare flower that occurs commonly here along the river is the eastern waterleaf.  It seems to specialize in the sandy zone just adjacent to the river which is highly disturbed periodically by floods.  An arum that is known to most people is the Jack (and Jill) in the pulpit.  I add Jill since the flowers may be either male or female.  Indeed this species is famous for a sex change to male in lean times and to female in times of high resource availability.  This seems to be linked to the low cost of producing pollen and the much higher cost of producing seeds.

Butterflies are fairly common if not too easy to observe due to the scarcity of yard flowers.  This tiger swallowtail was basking on a cool day.  This female monarch managed to find a single sprig of common milkweed which I had planted in my garden.  Bumblebees are common this time of year since they have higher body temperatures than other insects and can thus forage more efficiently on cool mornings.  Damselflies (powdered dancers) are surprisingly common along forest paths although their larval stage is aquatic.  Dragonflies are not yet common but this unusual Septima’s clubtail is found along the river every April.

Reptiles are very much in evidence.  This female snapping turtle was intercepted as she walked long distances to find a suitable sandy and warm site for her eggs.  The river cooters are up on rocks basking sometimes in the strangest positions.  This male (note the long tail) is teetering on a rock while extending the webs of its feet to dry out in the sun.  The most common lizards in this area are skinks but I did see this one green chameleon- which is an iguanid lizard not related to the real African chameleons.  I came across this large black rat snake crossing a trail- they are excellent climbers and probably are a major source of predation on bird nests.

Birds are of course breeding now and some are still migrating northward.  I found two nests in my backyard- a cardinal and a bluebird.  The difference in coloration of the eggs is interesting.  The speckled cardinal eggs are well camouflaged which would be important in an open nest when the female is away.  Bluebirds nest in holes and have beautiful blue eggs which are characteristic of their thrush family.  But why are they blue?

I succumb to the temptation of feeding birds with sunflower seeds and enjoy seeing them up close and personal.  One interesting interaction was the squabble between a resident female cardinal and a migrating rose breasted grosbeak over who dominates the feeder.  Maybe they are contesting who has the larger beak?  The grosbeaks are passing through as they head to higher and more northerly elevations and are very exciting to observe.

I hope you all have some special places where you can observe the wonders and beauties of Spring.  It is a magical time of year.