Green Among the Gray

Cranefly Orchid, Tiliparia discolor, Winter foliage, 3/10/2013

Spring begins along the Choptank River with little spots of green, before the riotous outbreak that will shortly fill the bottom lands with color.  I explored the leaf litter on Sunday, looking for some of those quiet green splashes.  

I found a few, including the leaves of Cranefly Orchids, laying flat against last fall's fallen leaves.  Green above, a deep reddish-purple beneath, these leaves will soon disappear, replaced in late summer with foot-tall spikes, topped with a spiral of small flowers.  We have several orchids in the woods along the river, but I think that the Cranefly Orchid is my favorite.  Not as showy as Lady's Slippers, not as plentiful as Puttyroot Orchids, the Cranefly rewards those who look for it with delicate flowers atop a purple stem.  The violet-white flowers are pretty, and resemble small insects in flight to me.  

Another plant that can be seen early in Spring is Ebony Spleenwort.  In the sandy soil on slopes leading to the river, these small ferns can be found year-round, although at this time of the year only the sterile fronds, set in a whorl near the ground, can be seen.  Before any other ferns have even sent up their first fiddleheads, Spleenworts are already there, preparing to unfurl their own fertile fronds as the days warm.  I love the rich reddish-brown rachis on this little fern, shining up from among the leaf litter.   

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Sterile fronds of Ebony Spleenwort, Asplenium platyneuron. 3/10/2013

These little victories over the waning winter drabness make walks along the water more and more fun as spring begins here on the Eastern Shore.  At the same time, a number of creatures become more active, and several species begin annual migrations to the Choptank.  While I couldn't get a camera focused on any, several hermit thrushes perched briefly overhead as I walked the woods on Sunday. A gray fox ran off as I first headed down the path towards the river, and as I approached the river below the spillway, an otter splashed into the water.  Red-shouldered hawks called overhead as I looked for the beginnings of Spring Beauties, which have not yet begun to poke through the bare soil near the river. 

Mourning Cloak butterflies flitted among the bare branches overhead as I caught the first Yellow Perch of spring on Sunday, a nice little 10"  male, brightly colored.  Soon the river will be full of perch, herring, shad and rockfish.  Eagles, osprey and herons will fish the river, as will dozens of fishermen, all looking to snare as many of these fish as they can while they are in the shallows to breed.  This is a great time of the year.

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