Don't Give Up on Spring!

April has been incredibly wintry, more so than January was this year. From my home office, I've been imagining the greening of the birch and maple trees out my window as I plan all kinds of spring nature adventures. I do believe the black flies will appear later than usual. I don't think there's a chance of them showing up before the 15th of May.

So what kind of safari suits you? This spring there's nature journaling, wilderness watercolor journaling, lots of birding adventures, and wildflower and butterfly treks. And, of course, plenty of mountain hiking.


Bicknell's Thrush
In related news, I'm going to be a volunteer for the Mountain Birdwatch program through the Audubon Society and the Vermont Institute of Natural Science. Between June 1-June 21, I'll be scrambling up Crane Mountain at dawn to search for Bicknell's Thrush, a thrush that has been in the news a great deal. It's on the Audubon Watchlist, and is currently the Neotropical migrant of highest conservation priority. In New York State, Bicknell's Thrush can only be found on mountain elevations higher than 2800 feet. Crane tops out at about 3300 feet or so, so I'll be hiking (softly), listening, and recording the thrush's song on the top 500 feet of trail. I love every inch of Crane Mountain, so none of this will be a hardship. I can't think of another place I'd rather be at dawn.