Backyard Almanac: A red maple day

Eight days remain in April, and the red maples are beginning to bloom, however, the average temp for the month is still well below normal, one of the five coldest Aprils on record. Only one day in the month has had temps above 50° F. However, the weather this weekend may help bring that up a bit and could produce the warmest day(s) of the month. Larry Weber observes that the vernal ponds are "looking good," and he hopes that tomorrow's warmer temps will mean that the early frogs will start calling, including woods frogs, chorus frogs and, a little later, spring peepers.

Larry's list of six spring birds he's expecting to see soon include the yellow-rumped warbler, the yellow-belly sapsucker, the flicker, the (eastern) phoebe, the tree swallow, and the hermit thrush. In addition to ravens, crows, red-wing blackbirds, grouse and mallards, Larry saw five hooded mergansers this week.