YOUR MONTHLY FIELD GUIDE
February
A Quiet Turning
Southern Blue Ridge • Western North Carolina
Cold days may still hang around, yet the mountains are beginning to transform. The days are gradually getting longer, casting a softer light over the landscape. Birdsong becomes more pronounced, and buds gently swell on bare branches, hinting at the new life to come.
Meet This Month's Species
Corylus americana
A native woodland shrub whose dangling male catkins become conspicuous on bare branches before spring leaf-out.
Sphyrapicus varius
A migratory woodpecker that drills neat rows of sap wells in trunks.
Wood Frog
Lithobates sylvaticus
A cold-tolerant woodland frog that may begin moving toward temporary breeding pools during mild, rainy late-winter weather.
Spotted Salamander
Ambystoma maculatum
A secretive forest salamander that begins to stir as warmer, wetter nights approach and breeding pools start to fill.
Carolina Chickadee
Poecile carolinensis
A small resident songbird whose whistles and chatter become increasingly noticeable as late-winter days begin to lengthen.
Red Maple
Acer rubrum
One of the earliest native trees to show spring color, with clusters of tiny red flowers appearing on otherwise bare branches.
February Small Wonders
Lichenized fungi (various taxa)
Lichens brighten winter trunks and rocks with pale green, silver, and blue. A partnership of fungi and algae, they often appear most vibrant after winter rains.
genus Eubranchipus
Winter rain and snowmelt fill temporary woodland pools, awakening tiny fairy shrimp from eggs in the mud. They swim upside down among fallen leaves until the pools disappear.
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