Nature Journal Notes

We are starting to get a taste of spring as temperatures rise into the sixties on some days and fall back into the 20s on other days here New England. Despite the lower temperatures over the past couple of days, there are still some sure fire signs that spring is nearing! One of which being that the first official day of spring is in four days on March 20th, but there is all sorts of other animal and plant activity that is also starting to take place. Some of our early spring migratory birds are back and calling like the Woodcock and the Red Winged Blackbird, and there were even a number of garter snakes spotted out and about over the weekend!

If you’re an avid nature journalist, these early signs of spring could not be more welcome, and if you’re new to journaling, get ready for an abundance of new life, plants, and animals to start documenting in the coming weeks! After months of being hauled up indoors for many of us, comes an opportunity to get outside and start making weekly or even daily observations of the changes happening outside. So… where should we start?

Well, here are some fun ideas for March journaling from The Nature Connection by author/naturalist Clare Walker Leslie!

1. Find a small body of water to go exploring in. Bring along a net or jar and start scooping up anything interesting you see! You can use a separate container to keep your findings in while you explore. Just be sure release them when you’re done! Not finding anything moving around? Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and start sifting through the leaf litter! Once you’ve collected a good amount of specimens, you can examine them and sketch them in your nature journal. Invertebrates (animals without backbones) that can be seen without a microscope in aquatic environments are called aquatic macroinvertebrates.
2. Start flipping logs to see which critters are becoming more active! The weather is finally starting to get warm enough for ectothermic animals who have taken shelter in rotting logs to start moving around. Many worms, beetles, millipedes, salamanders, slugs and other residents of the forest floor can be seen scuttling this time of year! As you are looking under logs and rocks, make note of the animals you are seeing and where you are finding them.
3. Collect something in nature that reminds you of the month of March! Create a journal entry that revolves around your findings. Draw a sketch, label your work, and write some notes about why this piece of nature is so connected to this time of the year.

Possibly the best way to experience spring through our nature journals is to just get outside and start making observations! If they make it into your journal, wonderful, and if you are just outside to enjoy the day with no journaling, that is okay too!