What’s Next – Early April

That’s a Cherry Bluet (Enallagma concisum), which I photographed in a pond in the Florida Panhandle a few days ago. We find these lovely damselflies in sand-bottomed lakes and ponds, usually with emergent vegetation and lily pads, in scattered locations across the American southeast from Louisiana to North Carolina.

A mating pair of Cherry Bluets (Enallagma concisum)

But it’s a fitting addition to my What’s Next series because red is a theme as springtime moves forward into April. Although snow still covers much of my home state of Vermont, I’m here in the Southeast to assure you all: fear not — red is on the way.

You’ll find fifty shades of red in the sepals and anthers of tree flowers bursting into bloom across the forests of New England. You’ll find it erupting on twigs of Beaked Hazelnut, which is something you must not miss as you walk the muddy paths this month. You’ll find it blazing from the pate of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, which are now singing here in the Southeast. And you’ll find it among a few butterflies, including Milbert’s Tortoiseshells now on the wing for early-spring romance.

To be sure, the non-red joys of April are arriving on schedule to northern New England and points beyond: Merlin, Eastern Phoebe, Hermit Thrush, along with other things I predicted in the mid March and late March editions of What’s Next.

But for now, I’ll leave you with a bit more of “What’s Red” here in the Southeast. Your best bet (besides actually getting outside in the grace of these animals) would be to click any image to start your full-screen slideshow.

Onward toward the green!