…or maybe plant of the month is a better title.

If you visit the park in the next few days or weeks there is one plant you will not miss, even if you try! And that plant is the Canada-mayflower, also called false lily-of-the-valley.

I shot these on a run up Sisyphus this afternoon and thought I’d pass ’em along. They’re not in bloom yet, but just the sight of all that green finally covering the forest floor will make you smile.

They will bloom in couple weeks with a cluster of white feathery flowers that will eventually turn into red berries, which are a very important source of food for birds in the park.

Yep, they’re common as heck—but their timing is impeccable in my opinion 🙂

More info:

• https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/species/maianthemum/canadense/
• http://app/public.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/forb/maican/all.html

Spring in the park is so awesome.

Just at the time we are all back biking and running and hiking, back come all the birds and other furry critters to say “hi” for the new season.

This is a few days old, but I recorded this on my Sunday a.m. (5/3) run on Stegosaurus. For those of you curious about some of the sounds from the trees you are hearing when you’re in the park, I thought  this might be interesting. (Unedited 30 second clip recorded with my phone:)

Back for 2015 are:

• Black-throated blue warbler (2 sec mark)
• Black & White Warbler, aka “the squeaky-wheel-gets-the-grease bird (8 sec. mark)
• Ovenbird singing its unmistakable “teacher, teacher,teacher!” (15 sec mark) You’ll be hearing that one ALL summer long!
• Black-throated blue warbler again (17sec mark)
• Black & White Warbler again (20 sec mark)
• Black-throated blue warbler again (29 sec mark)

In the background for most of the clip are very faint Chickadee “fee-bee” songs…  and my heavy breathing from just coming up the hill… sorry !

Here are some links to the birds mentioned above:

Black-throated Blue Warbler (photo above)

Black-and-white Warbler     

Ovenbird     

Black-capped Chickadee

Want to learn more? Come to the park this Saturday at 7:00am for a bird walk with naturalist Tom Estill.

Great bird walk with Tom Estill in Pine Hill Park.

Next event is a Nature Hike on Saturday, July 11th at 10AM. Meet at the front entrance of Pine Hill Park.