"Record High Temperatures Yield Subtle Signs Of Spring"
- wacoutanaturenotes
- Mar 1
- 3 min read
With record and near record high temperatures from February 13 thru 18, tempting signs of spring began to appear in our area.
Surprisingly with these warm temps, there were few if any reports of maple sap flowing yet. No doubt this was due to the deep frost conditions resulting from a lack of snow cover this winter.
In the early morning of February 16, I went for a hike along the shore of Wacouta Bay. As I was hiking, I heard a very unusual drumming of a Pileated woodpecker. Quietly approaching the loud noise, I discovered the male woodpecker using a wood duck nesting box as a sounding board.
This activity to establish a territory and attract a mate begins in late February into early March.
While hiking the next day at the base of Rattlesnake Bluff, I started to notice newly dropped red oak leaves. Another sign of spring showing itself.
These trees retain their dead leaves throughout the winter because specialized cells at the base of the leaf stem do not develop in the fall like many other trees. These leaves eventually will drop as the new buds push them off.
Despite the fact opossums do not hibernate, they are still able to survive winters in our area. In extremely cold conditions, they will hunker down under outbuildings or heavy vegetation.. As the weather warms up as we recently experienced, they will frequently visit our bird feeders day or night.
During our cold winter weather, raccoons enter a partial hibernation. They will spend the winter months in groups or sometimes alone. Raccoons prefer hollow trees or other protected places like underground dens to sleep until warmer temperatures arrives.
During warm spells like we experienced in mid-February, they leave their protected places. This activity will be noticed by fresh tracks in the snow or dead raccoons along our busy highways.
Like raccoons, striped skunks do not hibernate. Instead they enter a condition of reduced activity known as topor. Skunks usually stay in communal dens to conserve energy. With the arrival of a few warm days, they exit the dens in search of food. The best way of recognizing this activity is by detecting a strong pungent odor. This happens more frequently at night instead of during the day.
As you might recall from the summer of 2025, one topic of conversation was the overpopulation of cottontail rabbits in our neighborhoods. The next time you visit the Wacouta Town Hall, take a glance at the patch of sumac saplings along the north side of the playground.
The lower two feet of nearly every single sumac sapling has been girdled by rabbits. Evidently the pack of Wacouta coyotes we have been hearing all winter hasn't had much of a dent in the rabbit population. Just think. We are less than one month away from the arrival of the first litter of rabbits!
In previous posts, I have mentioned the invasive buckthorn and resulting damage it can inflict on our forest habitats. Near the conclusion of my local hike, I came across numerous areas of invasive equally and damaging as buckthorn.
Oriental bittersweet is extremely fast growing in comparison to our native bittersweet. The berries of this plant grow along the stem at all the leaf joints. American bittersweet has berries only at the end of it's branches.
Oriental bittersweet destroys forests by creating dense shade and girdling trees. This photo depicts a wild grape vine overtaken by a bittersweet vine.
A good day brightener was recently sent my way from our daughter Ena who lives with her family in southern Norway. She woke up one morning to discover a drake mallard hanging out in her small birdbath. The nearest open water is quite a distance away.
Arlin Albrecht: Your notes add a dimension to wildlife and the seasons that is without match. Please continue.
As always, great photos of our critter community and fun stories of the activity during our changing tempuratures. Thank you Bruce!