HONOR’S HAVEN NATURE ALMANAC 3

“April showers bring May flowers”. This indeed is true here at Honor’s Haven, not only in the many beautiful flower beds that have been planted, but also in the woods and fields where wildflowers are replacing the drab hues of winter with brilliant color.

http://www.honorshaven.com/data/editor/image/41222_1273762982.png

One such flower is the Wild Geranium (left picture). It is also known as the Cranesbill because of the shape of the shape of the seed pod which develops after it is done flowering. As can be seen from the picture, the wild geranium differs from its domestic counterpart in having a few single purple blossoms rather than red clustered blossoms. It is has been used as an anti-inflammatory treatment as well as an anti-hemorrhage help.

Another May flower is the Honeysuckle (pictured on the right). Honeysuckles are easily seen here at Honor’s Haven because they grow into sizeable bushes. Some herbalists use it as a cough suppressant. While looking at some of the earlier blossoming Honeysuckles I noticed movement around them. Upon closer examination I realized that what I was seeing was not a bee (which have come out in significant numbers), but a Humming bird. The sweet nectar of the Honeysuckle is particularly appealing to them thus producing my first of the year sighting of our most diminutive bird species.

http://www.honorshaven.com/data/editor/image/66898_1273763052.png

http://www.honorshaven.com/data/editor/image/34350_1273766657.png

Which brings us to another characteristic of May – bird migration. While it is true that a few bird species trickle back north in March and April, in May the food gates are open. Many species arrive. But for me, when I think of May, I think of warblers and vireos. More than a dozen species will pass through Honor’s Haven during spring migration and many of them will have bright yellow somewhere on there body as can be seen on the Cape May Warbler pictured on the left. This warbler is distinguished from other yellow warblers by the chestnut colored patches on his cheeks. For the most part, Cape May Warblers as with several other species of warbler are just passing through. They will nest farther north.

That however is not the case with all warblers. Many will stay and nest here. This is true of the American Redstart pictured at the right. Note that the male is in the nest doing much of the construction work. The female which is sitting outside is assisting with building materials. As with many birds, the female is much duller in color than the male. In spite of the name “Redstart”, the brilliantly colored parts of the male are more orange than red.

http://www.honorshaven.com/data/editor/image/62763_1273766735.png

http://www.honorshaven.com/data/editor/image/18068_1273766773.png

Speaking of birds that are brilliantly colored, there are few birds more brilliantly colored than the Baltimore Oriole (left picture). Their nest is unique in that they build it hanging basket style under the tree branch instead of on top of it. Even though they are considerably larger than warblers they are sometimes hard to see because they are often high up in the trees. To get them to come closer, I put orange halves on trees. Keep you eyes open and you may see one getting its vitamin C for the day.