Another walk through Henry’s Woods

The thermometer nudged into the lower 70’s today as the sun tried but couldn’t find a hiding place behind clouds. A gentle wind blew in from the northeast, but the sun kept things warm.

What a perfect day to walk Henry’s Woods in Lake Placid. The spring migrant bird population was in full chorus and the spring wildflowers were making themselves known with their vibrantly colored flowers.

Here’s what I saw:

Red trillium, Trout lily, Squirrel corn, Dutchman’s breeches, Spring beauties, Common toothwort, Round-leaved violet, bellwort(wild oats)

The bird population was very abundant, and too many to fill this blog. But I’ll list a few that I saw. If you walk the looped trail in a counterclockwise direction you will cross over several small tributary streams that feed a larger brook. Here the soil is very rich with a healthy overstory of beech, birch, maples, and some conifers for a splash of color.

The treetops in this area are just opening their buds and so small caterpillars  and other insects are  feeding on these buds.  These insects make for a great breakfast for birds. Here are some  of the species I saw feeding in the treetops:

Blackburnian warbler, Black-throated green warbler, Ovenbird, Black-throated blue warbler, Winter wren, Northern parula warbler

Photo Credit: “Squirrel Corn”-Brian McAllister

Just a little more patience

These rainy days highlight some of last years colors(wintergreen berries):

And with some patience we’ll eventually see shadebush -Amelanchier:

But as things open up, like these Hepatica flowers,

things seem to take on a beauty of their own(witch hobble leaves):

So let the rains fall soft upon the earth(red trillium),

…and fill our woods with the first hints of ephemeral color(Spring beauty),

Because this is not far behind!

All photos by Brian McAllister

Spring ephemerals

If you take a “wildflower walk” in the Adirondack woods this time of year, here’s what you might see. But you better hurry, they don’t last too long!

All of  these wildflowers are found in a typical hardwood forest or “beech, birch, maple forest”- (click on wildflower name):

Red trillium -Trillium erectum

Yellow trout lily -Erythronium americanum

Painted trillium -Trillium undulatum

Dwarf ginseng -Panax trifolius

Trailing arbutus -Epigaea repens

Round-leaved yellow violet -Viola rotundifolia

and last, but not least

Spring beauty -Claytonia virginica

Photo credits: All photos Brian McAllister