Exploring Catawba County Parks: Spring
Posted By lowenby on April 2, 2012
Spring signals profound changes in both our flora and fauna here in the North Carolina foothills. Our area, which has seen an especially mild winter this year, is already bursting to life! It is exciting to know that the natural world is about to come full circle and begin itself anew–and it is a marvelous time to get out with your family and enjoy the warm sun on your face while strolling through the lush green canopies that our parks provide. Your ears will be entertained to a full chorus of hawks, warblers, frogs, and toads while your eyes are treated to a wide array of enchanting spring wildflowers. There is so much to explore and see! Join one of our scheduled walks to have a more “in-depth” experience—or come on your own and spend the day hiking and picnicking with your family, exercising your dog, or challenging yourself to a ride on one of the mountain bike trails at Riverbend Park. Below, we have put together a few “must see” lists for spring for those of you who are interested in getting out and exploring Catawba County’s natural heritage! Since there is always a Ranger on duty at each park, stop in and ask what good things have been seen recently and they will be happy to point you in the right direction!
Spring Birds: Great Egret, Osprey, Broad-winged Hawk, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Great Crested Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo,
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Parula, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Hooded Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, and Baltimore Oriole.
Spring Wildflowers: Trailing Arbutus (March-May), Bloodroot (March-April ), Birdfoot Violet (April-June), Wild Columbine (March-May), Round-lobed Hepatica (February-May), Yellowroot (April-June), Mayapple (April-May), Halberdleaf Violet (April-May), Wild Azalea (April-May), Wild Stonecrop (April-May), Foamflower (April-June), Coral Honeysuckle (April-June), Roundleaf Ragwort (April-June), Jack-in-the-Pulpit (April-May), Large-flowered Trillium (April-May), Perfoliate 
Bellwort (April-May), and Dwarf Crested Iris (April-May)
Spring Butterflies: Pipevine Swallowtail, Zebra Swallowtail, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Falcate Orangetip, Harvester, Brown Elfin, Juniper Hairstreak, Spring Azure, Question Mark, Eastern Comma, Mourning Cloak, Gemmed Satyr, Northern Cloudywing, Juvenal’s Duskywing, and Common Roadside-Skipper
Other Things To Look For: Our favorite bird species, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, began showing up in mid-March! A 
great way to see how soon they will arrive is to check the Migration Map at hummingbirds.net. It offers an up to the minute picture of where sightings have occurred across the country. The male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will be the first to arrive and set up territory. The females should arrive from early to mid-April and their babies will be hatched by late May! American and Fowler’s Toads will be breeding in wet areas, Eastern Box Turtles will be roaming our trails looking for mates, and the rocks in the Catawba River will be covered again with Yellow-bellied Sliders and River Cooters! Several dragonfly species can also be seen in the early spring: the Gray Petaltail, Springtime Darner, and Common Baskettail.
Winter? What winter?!?!! We were very fortunate to have had no severe weather over the last few months! This gave us the opportunity to work on some problem areas on some of our trails. We re-graded and put in loads of gravel in some of the wetter spots and seeded most of the trails with grass in hopes that it will provide some stability in the areas where heavy rains do the most damage. We also worked on providing some thicker grass in both of the dog parks so the dogs would not get so muddy while they play!
Big Year effort! Ranger Martin has had some GREAT finds in the area including Golden Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, and two American White Pelicans!!! Ranger Stamey has been flipping over logs and looking under rocks for snakes and salamanders and has added mammals like Southern Flying Squirrel and River Otter. And Ranger Owenby had a banner month for butterflies and moths in March and is up to 127 species—well on her way to her goal of 500 species! She added several “life” species like Birch Dagger Moth, Pale Green Pinion, and Major Sallow during February and March.
Is your group looking for a great service opportunity? Join us for our 
Kids of all ages will enjoy this hands-on lesson about local pollinators. We will get out into the butterfly garden to look at some of these pollinators with our hand lens and then come inside to discuss their diversity and economic importance. We will be doing this in conjunction with