Heard the first loon this morning. Though temperatures pitched down into the 40s this weekend from the 60s earlier this week, the Wood Frogs have been noisier than ever. They call late into the night, and have a very distinct, "quack"-like call. As a child, I would hear Wood Frogs outside my bedroom window and think a flock of Mallard Ducks had landed on the pond.

Took a walk with the dog in Linwood Forest as the temperatures pitch into the upper 60's. Chorus and Wood Frogs were almost deafening. Snow is out even in the deepest parts of the forest, and off the smaller ponds, though it is still present on Typo Lake among other larger bodies of water in the area.

Plants Emerging:

• Columbine


• Prairie Smoke


• Goldenrod, Showy


• Goldenrod, Woodland

Wildlife Spotted this Week:

• Black-capped Chickadee


• Blue Jay


• Canadian Goose


• Crow, Common


• Dark-eyed Junco


• Goldfinch


• Grey Squirrel


• Loon


• Mallard Duck


• Mourning Dove


• Northern Cardinal


• Nuthatch


• Pileated Woodpecker


• Purple Finch


• Red-bellied Woodpecker


• Red-shouldered Hawk


• Red-winged Blackbird


• Robin, American


• Sandhill Crane


• Virginia Opossum