May Is Often Full of Happy "Bird-Days" Rose-breasted grosbeaks, such as this male, nest in Door County and return by the first week of May. Having maintained daily nature notes, journal entries, phenology records, or whatever you may wish to call them, for many years, they clearly reveal that May stands out as the month of greatest outdoor activity and excitement. The other months pale in comparison. Perhaps it’s the long winter wait that makes this time of the year so extra special. The flocks of wintering birds, including tree sparrows and dark-eyed juncos, have left for their northern breeding areas. Gradually they are being replaced by those species that will nest here or others that are considered transient visitors. These transients, including a dozen or more species of warblers, are here for only a matter of a few days or a week or so while they rest and feed before continuing their northward journeys. Head for the shores to enjoy the large gull-size Caspian terns with black caps, brilliant deep-red beaks and loud "squawk-like" calls. The other migrating relative is the flashy, active, noisy Bonaparte’s gull. These small gulls with the black caps invariably travel in tight flocks. Some of them will still retain their winter plumage whereby they will lack the black caps and instead sport a small black spot on each cheek. Yesterday, April 29, I checked what usually is the first area in our woods for the giant trilliums to bloom. Many there were already in bud with white petals showing, all of small size. I’ve noticed in past years that those large-flowered, or giant trilliums that are the largest are also the last to come into bloom. Surely there are several factors controlling this phenomenon, and I’m quite sure that they are all the very same species, regardless of size and blossoming time. It is when the first several dozen trilliums come into bloom in our woods, usually around May 4, that we head to a boreal forest near the Lake Michigan shore to enjoy the trailing arbutus. It is in this cold northern habitat where we also expect to hear some of our favorite birds that nest there including the northern waterthrush and winter wren. Surely enjoying the natural succession of spring wildflowers ranks high on the list of yearly favorite times for many of you. This year check the spring beauties growing in your woods or wherever you see them. Door County happens to be at that magical latitude where both the northern and southern species grow. The northern spring beauty, having wider and shorter leaves, has the species name of "caroliniana" while the southern species, "virginica," has longer, narrower leaves. I often wonder whether the botanist who years ago named these species had their geography mixed up a little. At least as far as I know, the Carolinas are south of Virginia! A woods rich with wildflowers surely is a treasure demanding careful stewardship and preservation. Charlotte and I bought our wooded property in 1977 and, in retrospect, I’m glad we were stone-broke after we purchased it and couldn’t afford to build a driveway or home. We hiked and learned about practically every square inch of the land during the following five years, what grew where and when, and the birds that nested there too. In fact we owned the property for three years before we could decide exactly where the 950-foot driveway would go to the site we chose for our home. Some plants were transplanted as we cleared the entire path for the driveway by hand, carefully avoiding the biggest and best of the trees and shrubs. Finally, by the spring of 1982, five years after we had bought the land, we were ready to build, but only after we invited friends to dig and transplant especially the trilliums that were growing where the house was to be built. Obviously the five-year sequence we followed is not possible for many of those who build in the county. On the other hand, I do think it is very possible for those who purchase wooded land, with the intention of building a house there, to get to know their land beforehand, including the plants native to the site, before clearing and construction are begun, thereby preserving many native species. It’s usually around the 18th of this month that a northern hardwoods in good condition in Door County may be full of singing birds, and the serviceberry trees, giant trilliums and dozens of other species of wildflowers are at their peak of bloom. All we can say is that these choice environments are virtual dreamlands. You’ve all had a happy birthday. Well, the 19th of the May a few years ago was a happy "bird-day" for us, one of the most exhilarating bird-days of our lives. The pinnacle occurred while we watched a male ruby-throated hummingbird execute his dazzling "pendulum" courtship flight while his ladylove perched nonchalantly nearby in a red-berried elder shrub. At least she appeared nonchalant to us. Seven bird species on the platform feeder simultaneously brought May to an end: a hairy woodpecker, rose-breasted grosbeak, American goldfinch, Baltimore oriole, house finch, blue jay and red-bellied woodpecker. Below on the ground was a male indigo bunting flashing all of his blues. Prepare yourselves for some spectacular nature-watching. Magical May has arrived! This column appeared in the Door County Advocate on 05/13/2003. © Copyright 2003 Roy Lukes. All rights reserved.