Natural events happen in spring in a predictable sequence that progresses rapidly. By early March there already is much to experience in nature in southeastern Pennsylvania. This year's sequence of natural occurrences is a bit early because of the mild winter and spring we've had here so far. But we could yet have cold, snow and ice this spring, which would delay natural events until the weather warms again. And when the temperatures do rise, spring's progression will come roaring back.
A few kinds of small, simple plants, including perennial snow drops, winter aconites, scilla and crocuses that grow from bulbs planted on lawns and in flower beds, and Veronicas and purple dead netttles that grow wild on lawns and in fields, are already in bloom by early March. All these plants that provide early beauties are originally from Europe and Asia, all are close to the ground to avoid cold winds and soak up the heat from the sun-heated soil, and all spread to form bigger patches of themselves through the years. Snow drops have white blossoms that look like tiny bells. Each aconite plant has one yellow bloom, while the flowers of scilla are sky-blue and seem to reflect the clear sky. Each crocus plant has a single yellow, white or purple flower with orange pollen on its anthers. Patches of Veronica, on lawns mostly, are pale-blue with flowers while those of dead nettles, in fields for the most part, are pink with their many blossoms.
By early March spring witch Hazels still have yellow and orange flowers, pussy willows are decorated with many gray, furry catkins, silver maple trees have yellow and dull-red blooms and red maple trees are just beginning to have ruby-red blossoms. The many lovely flowers of red maples make the canopies of bottomland woods red and attractive.
Maple sugaring, which is another wonderful sign of the vernal season, continues in March. One can see buckets, or other containers, perched on maple and birch trees to collect the sap that is boiled down to syrup. Warm afternoons cause the cells in the cambium layer, just under the bark, to expand and soak up sap from below. Cold nights cause those same cells to contract, pushing the sap up to cells a bit higher in the cambium layer, which defies gravity.
In March there already is a greening of certain plants, including short grass on lawns, winter rye in fields, weeping willow leaf buds, and field garlic, stinging nettles and poison hemlock plants on lawns and in fields. Garlic is originally from Europe and is a perennial that grows from white, underground bulbs like onions. Field garlic has grass-like, hollow leaves that stand upright. The leaves and bulbs have a strong, onion scent that is a fragrant part of early spring in the eastern half of the United States.
Migrant snow geese, tundra swans and a variety of duck species are still here early in March, but will soon migrate farther north and west to their respective nesting territories. Majestic flocks of these stately birds have thrilled local people for the few weeks they are in southeastern Pennsylvania waiting for spring to catch up to their restless urges to move on.
Early in March, too, pairs of Canada geese and mallard ducks continue to look for nesting sites in tall vegetation on the ground near bodies of water and waterways. Each pair keeps to itself and pairs of Canadas squabble and fight noisily and viciously with wings and beaks over nesting spots. Those wild, honking combats spread pairs of Canadas farther over the landscape, insuring each pair has enough food for its goslings.
Flocks of American robins, purple grackles and red-winged blackbirds return to this area at this time. I see striking groups of robins running and stopping on lawns where I had not seen them all winter. Robins are looking and listening for earthworms in the soil at the grass roots level, earthworms they can easily seize in their beaks and pull out of the ground.
Mixed hordes of grackles and red-wings pour into this area and flood across fields and lawns in search of grain, seeds, invertebrates and anything else edible. On the ground, one can see the lovely purple sheen on the feathers of the grackles. And in the air, one will notice the beautiful, red shoulder patches of male red-wings glowing and flickering like red-hot coals in a dark furnace.
Early March is full of wildlife activities. Pairs of lovely eastern bluebirds check out tree cavities and bird boxes for nesting sites while wood chucks eat early vegetation and look for mates. Male woodcocks continue their intriguing aerial-courtship ballets. Painted turtles and red-eared sliders sun themselves on warm afternoons while American crows carry materials to their nurseries in lone trees in fields. And pairs of wood ducks have just arrived back and are already looking for nesting cavities and wood duck nest boxes where each female can hatch up to 15 ducklings.
Courtship activities continue at night. During the day we see dead striped skunks, opossums, cottontail rabbits and muskrats that were run over by vehicles on roads during the night. My feeling is that most of these small mammals were males that were traveling over unfamiliar territories in search of mates. Unfortunately, they were looking for springtime love, but only found death. But, fortunately, not all the males are needed to fertilize the females of their respective kinds and so their species continue.
Early in March, if the weather is warm and rain falls heavily for a while, wood frogs and spotted salamanders wake up, exit carpets of dead, soggy leaves on forest floors and make their way across the soaked forest floor to temporary puddles of rain and snow melt. There each species spawns eggs in the pools, the salamanders silently, but the male frogs with much gusto and lusty, hoarse croaking that sounds like several quacking ducks being strangled. After a couple of days of spawning, the frogs and salamanders retreat back into the damp, dead-leaf carpet, leaving their multitudes of eggs behind in the puddle to develop and hatch on their own.
These are only some natural events that happen early in March in southeastern Pennsylvania. Readers can look for spring happenings around their homes, wherever they may be.
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