It’s spring. Be on the lookout.

By Andrea Gaines

The mammoth natural movement of birds, insects, amphibians, and other wildlife is picking up speed.  In our area, watch for …

• Monarch butterflies: In mid-March, masses of overwintering monarch butterflies left their reserve in, Mexico.  This “eastern population” plays a huge role in our area.  They have made it as far north as the Carolina’s, according to some reports. 
• Nature’s avian harbingers of spring: Look for barn swallows (sighted in Texas and Georgia in the last few months), bald eagle (throughout the eastern US, our great lakes, and into Canada, now), hummingbirds (A Ruby-Throated was recorded as far north as Brooklyn, NY, mid-March), 
• Frogs:  These beauties are now singing all over the place, as far north as Boston and throughout the southeastern US (This includes reports from Manassas, and Leesburg). 
• An important plant:  Keep an eye out for sprouting milkweed.  Female monarchs will lay their eggs in one plant and one plant only – milkweed. So far, reports of milkweed sprouts are coming in from the Atlanta area, parts of Oklahoma, and elsewhere.

The website www.journeynorth.org is a fantastic place to see the status and location of lots of migrating critters and emerging plants.  They welcome personal reports of what you see, too.  The Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy can help you understand what you are looking at, and offers great educational programs. (See www.loudounwildelife.org.)