Chestnut Oak Forests-- Seasonal Highlights

Spring Highlights

Pink to whitish blooms of pink azalea, hillside blueberry, mountain laurel (late spring)
White blooms of flowering dogwood
Nesting birds vocally setting up territories and attracting mates
Migratory birds arriving or heading north (look for them in early morning on the hilltops where the sun’s rays hit first, warming them and activating their insect prey)
White-chested, solitary red fox might be seen hunting rodents or insects. A male fox will hunt to feed his mate before and after she gives birth in spring.

Pink blooms of mountain laurel (early summer)
Pinkish to red blooms of black huckleberry
White blooms of striped prince's-pine (usually in two or threes), twin blooms of partridgeberry (early summer)
Dark berries of hillside blueberry and black huckleberry
Low-to-the-ground chestnut oak seedlings with their distinctively scalloped leaves
Female red fox might be seen, her coat looking scruffy from pulling out fur for spring nests. Pups may accompany parents outside the den. Dens are sometimes dug in the soil that clings to the roots of large fallen trees.

White wood-aster in bloom
Brilliant orange and red leaves of blackgum
One-inch long acorns of the chestnut oak
Yellow blooms of American witch-hazel
Red berries of partridgeberry and flowering dogwood
Migratory birds passing through on their way south
Solitary foxes may be seen sunning themselves, foraging, or hunting. Red fox pups leave their parents in the fall.

Evergreen leaves and dark contorted stems of mountain laurel
Dark and deeply furrowed bark of chestnut oak
Green bare twigs of hillside blueberry
Open vistas that allow you to see the shape of the land, including rock outcrops
Perhaps a solitary fox hunting or foraging for acorns - look for tracks in snow