Even in the heart of winter, Cope is quietly waking up. Along the trails, some of our earliest wildflowers begin to peek through the cold, look for Skunk Cabbage, Harbinger of Spring, Hepatica, and Snow Trillium bringing the first hints of color to the forest floor.
By late February, the sounds of spring return too. American Woodcock males can be spotted at dusk near open fields, performing their charming sky dances while calling out their signature “peent.”
If we’re lucky enough to get a warm, rainy night, Cope’s amphibians begin to stir. Salamanders, frogs, and newts may start their secret nighttime journeys toward wetlands and vernal pools to breed, one of nature’s most magical sights.
