Green-up happens quickly in the north–almost overnight. Last week a tinge of green was visible on the trees one morning and by the next morning it was solid. Warm temperatures make the leaves grow like crazy and the “green flash” happens. Although small, the aspen leaves are large enough to tremble in the wind and create that sound only aspen leaves can make.
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| Leaves are rapidly growing on a cottonwood along the Koyukuk River |
Along with the warm temperatures came the mosquitoes, insects and birds. A few sandhill cranes are still hanging around the runway and the gravel pit.
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| Sandhill Crane |
The white-crowned sparrow sings a beautiful song in the morning along with the robins, warblers and white-winged crossbills. One morning, a male and female white-winged crossbill were singing to each other from the tops of two spruce trees–a delightful song.
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| White-crowned sparrow |
The swallows returned two weeks ago and immediately occupied existing nests or started building new ones. Both cliff swallows and tree swallows spend the brief summer here eating as many mosquitoes as they can, but they can’t eat enough of them to make a dent in the population.
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| Cliff swallows nesting on the beams of the hangar |
Memorial Day weekend was one for the record books with highs in the 80’s–about twenty degrees above normal for the end of May. The heat definitely helped with the ‘green flash’ of summer.
