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.
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
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.
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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