By Mike Roche

One day we have single digits with a wind chill factor below 0, followed by 50-degree warmth and melting conditions. Welcome to March!

The days are growing longer with the sun not setting until after 6 p.m. This weekend the clocks will be set an hour forward as Daylight Savings Time begins. We humans will adjust our lives accordingly while the natural world adapts as it has always done. That means buckets (and now tubing) appearing on roadside maple trees as the sap is running. The resulting real maple syrup is something that really defines spring coming to New England.

The sap run is just one of nature’s spring developments and they are all around us. Each time you walk outside you can hear the many species of songbirds singing as the males are instinctively trying to attract the attention of females and establish territories to build a nest.

In many species the males stand out, as the process of evolution had evolved them so that they have bright “nuptial” plumage to help attract the attention of females. Perhaps the most spectacular combination of color and sound is the wild turkey, but more on that later. Many have also commented on hearing a lot of late-night vocalizations from coyotes, who are also involved in breeding rituals. They will be bearing young at the same time as many prey species are also bearing young, and that is not an accident of nature.

Migrating waterfowl will soon fill the air, with ducks and geese returning from southern migrations and either resting or taking up residence as local waters open. Usually in late February or early March, my personal favorite, the American woodcock, will also begin to show up in seeps, where they can probe for earthworms. The males prepare for the spectacular aerial display that is unforgettable and so many enjoy watching. At dusk, males call, emitting an unmistakable “preent” and then they fly straight up with their whistling wings and then spiral back down to the exact same spot. It is really cool!

The other native upland species, ruffed grouse or partridge, have their own spring ritual as the males “drum.” Frequently using the same log, they rapidly flap their wings, and it has been described as sounding like a tractor starting up. Biologists monitor grouse populations by driving a prescribed route in grouse habitat, stopping every tenth of a mile and listening for drumming. Records are kept of the number of grouse heard and this is used as one of the data pieces that monitors population trends. Years ago, it was my pleasure to accompany a biologist on a route in New Salem. It was very interesting.

The wild turkey has been a very popular game species in Massachusetts and the males are beginning to gobble and display locally. The mature males, called toms or gobblers, puff up their feathers and spread their tail feathers into a fan to attract the attention of hens. Right now the hens could care less, but the process – which can include sparring and fights with the male’s spurs – is all about establishing dominance and breeding territory for later, usually beginning in April and continuing as late as June, when the hens are fertile and ready to breed.

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Massachusetts turkey hunting season opens on the last Monday in April, which this year is April 28. Bearded turkeys are only legal in the spring. Males have beards that are actually specialized feathers that protrude from the chest. Birds born last spring, called jakes, have beards that are usually a few inches long, while mature toms may have beards six inches long or longer.

Massachusetts has year-long fishing and trout stocking begins when conditions are appropriate. The last few years, trout have been stocked much earlier than usual due to the mild winters. This year looks like it will be a while before “ice out.” That also means that ice fishing season is prolonged, and many old-timers have professed that the late season ice fishing, “when bugs come up through the holes,” is the best. Don’t put the tackles away yet!

After not being selected for a non-resident turkey permit in Kansas last year, my luck was better and last week the results were in my favor. That means another trip “to visit my sister” in April! Last April, my sister was able to connect me up with a landowner in nearby Missouri and that resulted in my taking a mature gobbler. However, this writer is really looking forward to spending some time with the many good people who have become friends through my association with turkey hunters and landowners in the Sunflower State.

MassWildlife has announced that, due to input from fishermen, they will no longer stock trout in the upper reaches of the Deerfield River. The belief was that the wild brown trout population would be better off without introduced rainbow trout and that it has become a sustainable fishery without the rainbows being stocked. There are a number of guides who regularly take clients fly fishing in those waters and it will be interesting going forward to see the impact of the change.

The Mahar Fish’N Game Club Game Supper is coming right up. It will be held on Saturday, March 15, at the Mahar Regional Cafeteria. It will again feature a great meal of wild game prepared by the team of local cooks who have prepared game meals for a long time, and they will have a variety of different offerings.

Like all school events, tickets are purchased exclusively online using a website. Tickets are $20 and you can purchase them by going to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club Facebook page. You can also use the link posted below. If you are unable to make that work you can email the club advisors, Evelyn Cunha of the high school club and Billy Devine of the middle school club and they will assist you in getting tickets.

The emails are ecunha@rcmahar.org or wdevine@rcmahar.org . The link to buy tickets is https://.gofan.co/app/school/MA23964_1.

Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club, counselor and director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.