March
March 30: Vernal pool in Spring Hill Conservation Area hosts several animals over the course of the Pink Moon: BARRED OWL (ten times!), RACCOON, WOOD FROGS, WHITE-TAILED DEER, and more. Thanks as always to Acton’s trail cam guru Rebecca Harvey for these and all videos in this issue, available on YouTube’s Wildlife of Acton channel.
March 31: AMERICAN HAZELNUT catkins dangle 3” in March breeze on Arlington Street along Fort Pond Brook banks.
April
April 1: SPICEBUSH blooms in Heath Hen Meadow Brook with tiny yellow-green blossoms.
April 3: EASTERN COTTONTAIL RABBIT gathers bundles of straw [for nesting litter?].
April 5: TURKEY VULTURE lands on Spruce St along with noisy CROWS, pecking at the pavement. All fly away when walker approaches, revealing only a bloody spot.
April 6: BOBCAT pauses near vernal pool in Spring Hill as SPRING PEEPERS sporadically chirp.
April 9: LIVERWORT emerges atop West Acton compost pile.
April 10: TREE SWALLOWS return to build nests in North Acton Community Garden bird boxes…a furry-faced small solitary bee cruises through West Acton yard.
April 11: BUMBLEBEE cruises West Acton yard looking for blossoms.
April 12: REDBUD blossoms swell and prepare to open, emerging directly from the tree trunk on Spruce Street.
April 13: Abundant HAIRY BITTERCRESS blooms in front of West Acton Post Office.
April 14: MASON BEES fly low above forest floor in Heath Hen Meadow Brook.
April 15: First CARPENTER ANT emerges to forage on an Acton lawn…WHITE-STRIPED RUNNING CRAB SPIDER hides under littered Post-it Note in Heath Hen Meadow Conservation Area.
April 16: LUNGWORT blooms on Assabet Rail Trail…CANADA GOOSE parent sits atop a deep nest on an island of TUSSOCK SEDGE grass in the marsh by the old Beacon building on Route 27 near the Maynard line.
April 17: First MOSQUITO bites resident in her home on Half Moon Hill…COLUMBINE leaves emerge in West Acton.
April 18: TURKEY VULTURES warm their wings on a rocky ledge in Acton woods…The same TURKEY VULTURES mate in a wooded area. Please note that turkey vultures are shy and if you see them breeding or nesting, be quiet and unobtrusive.…
April 18: PURPLE PITCHER PLANT leaves fill with rainwater, setting traps for unsuspecting insects at pond-side in Wills Hole Conservation Area…Blonde WOODCHUCK scrambles to the middle of ABRHS (Acton Boxborough Regional High School) Lower Playing Field, grazing on greening grass, while another less bold one dashes into a well-trampled tunnel under the athletic gear storage container…The first CHINESE QUINCE blossoms open on Spruce Street, enticing emerging BUMBLEBEE pollinators.
April 19: Trilling AMERICAN TOADS pulse loud and quiet in woodland stream in Spring Hill Conservation Area…Large HEN of the WOODS fungus cluster falls of a dead RED OAK tree behind Gardner Field Playground…PUSSY WILLOWS burst into full bloom at Great Hill Conservation Area…WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS pause in their northward migration to delight North Acton residents.
April 20: WINTER FIREFLY pauses on a pine tree trunk before flying off at waist height…PAINTED TURTLES stretch their necks on a sunny log in NARA Park pond.
April 20: NORTHERN WATER SNAKE rests, coiled on a rock at the edge of Nagog Brook. According to Snakes of Massachusetts, this species lives around almost every wetland habitat in the state; mothers carry eggs inside their bodies and give birth to live young.
April 21: First LITTLE BROWN ANT colony nest excavations erupt like tiny volcanoes in Elm St toddler playground.
April 22 CARPENTER BEES hover next to sunny side of wooden shed in West Acton, claiming territory in which to drill a perfectly round brooding hole…BARN SWALLOWS return to Fort Pond Brook by Boardwalk Campus, swooping and banking in pursuit of abundant GNATS and BLACK FLIES 10 feet above the surface…KILLDEER scurries on long legs around Elm St parking lot, calls loudly, and flies up to join mate flying west…GREY TREE FROGS chirp on high branches in Acton woods.
THANKS to this month’s Nature Watchers Frann Addison, Vivian Kobusingye Birchall, Rebecca Harvey, Kim Kastens, Alissa Nichol, Franny Osman, and Leah Whitehouse!
Next month (Flower Moon), watch for WARBLERS return (Yellow warblers returned 5-13-24), LILIES of the VALLEY in bloom, and hundreds of other blossoms.
Thanks to your generous contributions of sighting reports, photos, and videos, we expect to publish the Acton Nature Watch in future months. Please send us your observations and photos. Fishing enthusiasts, please tell us what you are catching too! We have heard that the River Street dam removal last year has broadened the geographic range of several fish varieties in the upstream waters of Fort Pond Brook, but we need more evidence! We are always curious about any wild animals, plants, and fungi within our borders.
Rob Gogan is a West Acton resident, and compiles the Acton Nature Watch feature.