What started out as a bird walk eventually morphed into a different type of nature walk.

I figured I would head to the nearby park a week before the official start of spring to see if any early spring birds had arrived. My main target, as always in mid-March, was American woodcock. As always, I came up empty in that department.

Other birds were scarce as well. The winter ducks had presumably left the ponds for points north. No other spring birds had arrived yet, at least not that I saw that day. I know that eastern phoebes are around right now, and the other day through my window at work I saw a yellow-rumped warbler. But there was no such luck on this walk.

The only birds I did see were the predictable ones such as chickadee, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, robins, and turkey vultures. An eastern bluebird was the birding highlight as it turned out.

But the real highlight came when I walked past a vernal pool that was teeming with frogs. I heard the spring peepers calling from a long distance away, but plenty of wood frogs were swimming in the pool as well.

As soon as I took my third step towards the pool, the once-deafening chorus stopped abruptly. I walked up to the pool quickly to see what else might be around, but other than a lone wood frog floating on the surface, everything was quiet and out of sight. I retreated promptly to let the peepers and other frogs get on with their day.

A little farther down the trail, I came to a pond and noticed turtles on the logs and rocks jutting above the surface. From experience, I knew if I took a step or two off the trail towards the pond all of the turtles would have plopped into the water. So I took a quick look through the binoculars and went on my way along the trail.

I’m not sure why, but I was surprised to see the frogs and turtles out already. It was nearly 70 degrees on this day, but I just wasn’t ready for the spring sightings. With the winter ducks off the ponds and replaced by turtles and frogs, it was an abrupt change from winter to spring sightings. Sure, winter may have a few gasps left for us here in New England, but on this day it was all spring. 

Frogs and turtles were not the only surprises. I also saw several mourning cloak butterflies and even some mosquitoes. 

For the most part, however, the transition to spring will happen slowly in nature. The weather will fluctuate wildly over the next month or so, as it always does this time of year in New England, and bird species will return one by one. 

Regardless of what is or isn’t found on walks, spending time outdoors is always a worthy use of time.