Elk Rapids Almanac - March 2021
March 11 - Piles of snow dot the yards but spring is tiptoeing in. Cold winds may shake the trees, dropping branches to the ground, but the birds sing their sweet songs in the morning, tips of hyacinths and daffodils peek up through the sunny spots around the side of the house, little starts of poppies with green leaves line the soil by the fence post, and the sun warms the mums which are starting to show green sprouts at their base. Spring is definitely announcing her presence. -Terri Reisig
March 15 - Ides of March. Contrary to popular belief and superstitions, Ides simply marks the first day of the full moon in every month.
March 17 - When walking the shores of Lake Michigan, I stopped to take in the beauty, and I saw an eagle sailing through the air. The sun was shining, and the glistening water of the bay almost blinded me. Spring is in the air, and I strongly recommend taking a walk soon! -Adrian Noecker, Elk Rapids high school Eco Club
March 18 - Signs of spring are everywhere-crocus in bloom, daffodils peaking out, pussy willows, buds fattening on trees and bushes, birds building their nests, and the grass starting to green up. -Christine Petersen
March 19 - The Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis anatiopa) butterfly overwinters as an adult in warm places below bark or stone. They emerge in early spring before all the snow is gone seeking tree sap and mates to continue their life cycle. I spotted one at Maplehurst Natural Area. A sure sign of spring! -Ellen Baird
March 20 - First day of spring in northern hemisphere.
March 22 - While on a morning walk on North Bayshore on 3/22, my wife and I spotted what we thought was a black squirrel running down the road toward us. It veered into the brush on the bay side. It was a mink! -Tom Baird
March 22 - Spring is a season of hope, but when it comes to water quality, it is also a season of concern. Melting snow and rain storms wash heavy loads of sediment, oil, and road salt built up over the winter into our waterways. Heavy rains may also flush contaminated water into drinking water sources, and push agricultural fertilizers and animal waste into lakes and rivers. Good stewardship requires better controls on these pollution sources and action by each of us. -Dave Dempsey, FLOW
Notes: Naturalist Ted Williams says forget trying to identify spring birds visually, since they move too fast and feed too high. Learn their distinctive songs by free apps or recordings from Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Bird songs you hear in Elk Rapids now are cardinals singing their hearts out, along with chickadees, bluebirds, and Eastern Phoebes now returning to our area.
--Black bears will soon emerge from hibernating. While the mother slept, the cubs have not been hibernating, but were nursing while she slept. The mother will tend them for about a year and a half. If you should encounter them, remember to keep your distance. Take in your bird feeders at night, which is the only way to keep the bears away. Birdseed that includes capsicum as a bear deterrent is bad for bird digestive systems, according to Kay Charter, Saving Birds Thru Habitat.
--A great book on changing seasons: It’s Raining Frogs and Fishes: Seasons of Natural Phenomena and Oddities of the Sky, by local author Jerry Dennis, 1992.
March 11 - Piles of snow dot the yards but spring is tiptoeing in. Cold winds may shake the trees, dropping branches to the ground, but the birds sing their sweet songs in the morning, tips of hyacinths and daffodils peek up through the sunny spots around the side of the house, little starts of poppies with green leaves line the soil by the fence post, and the sun warms the mums which are starting to show green sprouts at their base. Spring is definitely announcing her presence. -Terri Reisig
March 15 - Ides of March. Contrary to popular belief and superstitions, Ides simply marks the first day of the full moon in every month.
March 17 - When walking the shores of Lake Michigan, I stopped to take in the beauty, and I saw an eagle sailing through the air. The sun was shining, and the glistening water of the bay almost blinded me. Spring is in the air, and I strongly recommend taking a walk soon! -Adrian Noecker, Elk Rapids high school Eco Club
March 18 - Signs of spring are everywhere-crocus in bloom, daffodils peaking out, pussy willows, buds fattening on trees and bushes, birds building their nests, and the grass starting to green up. -Christine Petersen
March 19 - The Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis anatiopa) butterfly overwinters as an adult in warm places below bark or stone. They emerge in early spring before all the snow is gone seeking tree sap and mates to continue their life cycle. I spotted one at Maplehurst Natural Area. A sure sign of spring! -Ellen Baird
March 20 - First day of spring in northern hemisphere.
March 22 - While on a morning walk on North Bayshore on 3/22, my wife and I spotted what we thought was a black squirrel running down the road toward us. It veered into the brush on the bay side. It was a mink! -Tom Baird
March 22 - Spring is a season of hope, but when it comes to water quality, it is also a season of concern. Melting snow and rain storms wash heavy loads of sediment, oil, and road salt built up over the winter into our waterways. Heavy rains may also flush contaminated water into drinking water sources, and push agricultural fertilizers and animal waste into lakes and rivers. Good stewardship requires better controls on these pollution sources and action by each of us. -Dave Dempsey, FLOW
Notes: Naturalist Ted Williams says forget trying to identify spring birds visually, since they move too fast and feed too high. Learn their distinctive songs by free apps or recordings from Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. Bird songs you hear in Elk Rapids now are cardinals singing their hearts out, along with chickadees, bluebirds, and Eastern Phoebes now returning to our area.
--Black bears will soon emerge from hibernating. While the mother slept, the cubs have not been hibernating, but were nursing while she slept. The mother will tend them for about a year and a half. If you should encounter them, remember to keep your distance. Take in your bird feeders at night, which is the only way to keep the bears away. Birdseed that includes capsicum as a bear deterrent is bad for bird digestive systems, according to Kay Charter, Saving Birds Thru Habitat.
--A great book on changing seasons: It’s Raining Frogs and Fishes: Seasons of Natural Phenomena and Oddities of the Sky, by local author Jerry Dennis, 1992.
Photo courtesy of Kay Charter, Saving Birds Thru Habitat.