Jefferson salamanders are the earliest vernal pool visitors, arriving even when there’s lots of ice.

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Uh oh. Found an LDD, formerly gypsy moth, caterpillar in the blueberry patch. Northwestern Vermont has been slammed this year and next year it could be us, in east central Vermont. Keep an eye out for the egg masses, often low on tree bark. They can be scraped off.
Cow parsnips are setting seed and Canada lilies are flowering – two field edge favorites.
When woodpeckers feed their fledglings there’s a big racket, including relentless shrieking.
According to many sources, today is roughly the middle of the heating season, although there’s the more pessimistic old adage that says you need to still have half your wood and half your hay on Candlemas Day, which is February 2nd.
Warmer temperatures are known to increase photosynthesis in the higher latitudes and Siberia has been getting greener. This isn’t working so well in boreal North America where stresses such as fire, pests and droughts have made things browner overall.
Turtles are crossing roads. If conditions permit, a helping hand might keep one of them from being hit by a careless vehicle.
A Year of Winter Finches Ahead
Our dog flushed a grouse off a nest containing just three eggs this morning. Grouse normally incubate 9 to 14 eggs but when, after shooing off the dog, I reached into the brush pile to straighten out the situation, the eggs were warm, suggesting that this female was calling it quits at three.