Seeing signs of spring at 65 mph

When I was in forestry school at the University of Vermont, my dendrology professor, Dr. DeHayes, did everything he could to immerse us in the study and identification of trees. On the way to field study sites, he would give us extra credit (so we thought) if we could identify trees while traveling 65 miles per hour down Route 89. “Four Door Dendro” he called it and we got pretty good at it. Soon we were identifying trees by their shapes, where they were growing, their color, the manner in which they reached for the sun, the “stubbiness” of their branches, etc. Noting the teardrop shape of open-grown maples, the vase shape of elms, the way the lower branches of pin oaks pointed down and the upper branches pointed up all became second nature to us.I thought about this as I was driving up the Taconic State Parkway to a meeting yesterday. The colors and textures that could be seen on the landscape were extraordinary. Much of the snow had melted into mosaic-like patches that contrasted with the underlying ground. The trees, largely leafless, were very discernible. The yellow hue of the roadside willows and the red color of the red osier dogwood below created a pastel blur as I attempted to make my meeting on time. The red oaks were obvious as many of their reddish brown leaves from last year continued to hold on, if only for another few weeks. The dark, gnarly, twisted shape of the black locust trees along the hedgerows of farm fields evoked scenes from horror movies.Of course trees were not the only thing that kept me occupied on my trip. I counted seven red-tailed hawks perched prominently on power poles or on the ends of tree branches, patiently looking for food. Turkey vultures were a common sight with their wings pointed in a V shape, wobbling ever so slightly as they soared overhead. Flocks of red-winged blackbirds could be seen in the wetlands — a sure sign of spring. The ice-covered rock outcroppings created when the road was carved through bedrock reminded me of the incredible geologic forces that created our landscapes.There is often much to see when driving our scenic highways if you keep your eyes open — and on the road, of course! I made my meeting on time and had some nice natural history sightings to boot.If you are looking for an early spring field trip, don’t forget MapleFest at the Audubon Center on March 16, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can see our new evaporator in action, and we now have plenty of syrup on hand.Scott Heth is the director of Audubon Sharon and can be reached at sheth@audubon.org, (subject line: Nature Notes).