March

Days Are Getting Longer

March is a month of returning birds, and planting indoor garden seeds. Summer is just around the corner, I can feel it.

The days are getting longer by 60 minutes in the morning and 80 minutes in the evening and the red-winged blackbirds, crows, bluebirds, and waterfowl are returning. The snow starts to melt creating muddy landscapes and the wind kicks up, wildflower season is not too far off.


Animal & Plant Life Are Waking Up

Our woodland and pond critters start waking and becoming active this month. Chipmunks leave their winter hideaways behind, common garter snakes start sunning themselves on woodland paths, and turtles, frogs, and salamanders emerge from the mud.


Woodchucks

Mating for the woodchuck begins during the month of March. Near the end of March, males are extremely aggressive, fighting with one another; often bloodily and hairless in spots from their mating wars.

Woodchucks are the largest member of the squirrel family. They spent their winter sleeping in burrows that can reach five feet and sixty feet long curled up in a ball with their heads tucked into their hind legs. The woodchuck’s heart rate slowed down and reached true hibernation over the course of the winter months. This month, he awakens and starts the mating season.


Water Birds Return In Numbers

March is an excellent month to start watching the wetland areas and farm fields for returning waterfowl. Tundra swans, geese, and ducks are often found in large numbers.

Killdeer, coots and pied-billed grebes, Redhead duck, scaup (both greater and lesser), buffleheads, red-breasted merganser, and goldeneye are just some of the ducks that visit this area in March and April.



@nikkilynn54311

American Bittern is a wading bird in the #heron family. The #bird migrates back at the end of March and beginning of April. In the #wetlands you will most often hear them which will zero you in on their location. Because of their coloring and streaky neck and belly they blend in extremely well when in the long grass, reeds and cattails. #nature #bittern #wadingbird #waterbird

♬ Time of the Season – The Zombies

End of March into April: great blue and green herons, black-crowned night herons, sandhill cranes, and Virginia and sora rails return and the heard but less often seen American bittern.


Watch For


@nikkilynn54311

Pileated woodpecker search for #emeraldaahborer #insects The insects are the reason they tell you not to transport #firewood to different counties. This little bugger is literally a pain in the ash! Killing ash trees across the United States and Canada. #bug #tree #treekiller #harmfulinsect

♬ original sound – Nikki
@nikkilynn54311

Eastern White Pine ❤️

♬ Pine Trees – Cushy
@nikkilynn54311

Todays #nature walk was through the #wisconsin #snow covered woodlands checking out the flowing creeks. The white plant pictured is called annual honesty or also known as silver dollar plant or money plant. The berries are buckthorn berries and the #snake was found in the open bare patches of the woods and is a common garden snake.

♬ original sound – Nikki
@nikkilynn54311

Winter walk 4.5 miles in.

♬ original sound – Nikki

Plant Life Changes

Look for the following wildflowers to bloom sometime starting during the month of March in Wisconsin.

What’s blooming during the month of March in our woodlands, meadows, and wetlands? Our weather is warming up and depending on the yearly weather pattern you will start seeing plant, wildflower, and tree growth. Each year the plant life will vary for a few weeks depending on the warmth of the soil.

Prairie Smoke
Eastern Purple (Symplocarpus foetidus) & Western Yellow (Lysichiton americanus) Skunk Cabbage Blooms as early as February but most often in March.
Sharp-Lobed Hepatica
Snow Trillium (Trillium nivale) A small Trillium found in dense hardwood forests. Currently, a threatened wildflower. Blooms in March & April and the pink coloring are because the blooms are older.
Trailing Arbutus
Harbinger of Spring
Early Thickcut Buttercup

Pussy Willow Catkins Bloom

This deciduous shrub prefers moist soil and is usually found around ponds and streams.

Pussy willow trees have male and female flowers. The male flowers are soft and gray Female flowers are a fuzzy green.


Additional Posts:
• Seed Germinating
• Natures Guide To Planting
• Picking Garden Tools

Get out and enjoy the last week of the month of March – Until next month friends, I wish you peace, health, and happiness!

Jan, Feb , Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov

The post was last updated in March 2023.

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