After this long rainy April week, May is finally here! With the month of May comes warmer temperatures, spring flowers, and increased bird activity. Average day time temperatures for Minnesota are in the 60s, while night time temperatures are in the mid-40s. We begin to see many spring flowers in the woodlands, such as bloodroot, dutch man’s britches, anemones, white trout lily, red columbine, trillium, phlox, and jack-in-the-pulpit. Prairie spring flowers include pasque flower and prairie smoke. There aren’t many flowering species in the woodlands of the arboretum currently, but there are plans in the near future to introduce more of these species to these areas.
Birds are starting to return, just in time for the breeding season! Sightings of Baltimore orioles, chimney swifts, great egrets, and other migratory birds will continue to increase. Blue birds have begun building nests in the blue bird houses around the arboretum. Ducklings and goslings are already fervently following their parents around ponds and lakes. May is a great time for bird watchers to appreciate the newly crafted nests, watch new birds learn to fly, and rediscover the birds that spend the summer months in Minnesota.