I Spy on the Trail - May 1 -15, 2026

May is always such a lush and fast-moving month despite cold weather. Leaf-out, returning songbirds and flowers sprouting and blooming everywhere in the wild and in our gardens. It’s always a pleasure to see what’s on the May trails.

The first half of the month continued cool with frost warnings often during the first eight days. Once again, my warmer hiking clothes got a workout. It was also a dry start to the month through most of the Driftless with scattered showers but little prolonged moisture. We ended up with rain and nice warm temps the second week so that is a good sign. More rain and seasonably warmer temperatures are looking good for the second half of the month too. 

Jeweled shooting stars
Perrot Park's Brady's Bluff trail

The bird migration numbers exploded exponentially during the first two weeks with warblers, hummingbirds, grosbeaks, egrets, waterthrush, vireos and yellowthroat joining the fun. Trails and yards have been awash in activity and sound. But migration is far from over. Please remember to turn off outside lights and pull down shades between 11pm and 6 am, peak migration hours.

It has been an incredible year for jeweled shooting stars. Everywhere we found these limestone-loving cliff ephemerals, there were simply hillsides and cliffsides covered with them. Once pollinated, their drooping petals, straighen and become erect, soon revealing a lone seed head. It has made woods and cliffside hikes especially fun. For those checking out the prairies, prairie smoke is blooming like crazy!

We spent the final week in Ely MN hiking and stargazing. Being six hours north of La Crescent, the timing was right to re-experience early spring. It was a pleasure to spot the earliest blooming roundleaf hepatica and a rush of warbler migration and drumming of grouse during our time there. We also were able to enjoy the delicate first pastel first leaves of spring up there. Pale yellow and pink leaves joined spring green in the leaf canopy.

What causes these early jewel leaf tones?  In meteorologist Paul Douglas’ April 30th Star Tribune column, he explains the phenomenon: “It’s finally “greening up” across Minnesota, but why do leaves on the trees look more yellow-green (chartreuse) than the dark greens of July and August? In spring, “carotenoids” (the same yellow and orange pigments from the fall) are still present when leaves unfold. Because chlorophyll levels are low in early May, we are seeing the yellow of the carotenoids blending with the light green of new chlorophyll. Leaves are still living off stored sugars from the trunk and roots. Photosynthesis, the biological process that converts sunlight into glucose (food) and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water, will kick in soon, turning deciduous leaves forest green by midsummer."

It’s scientific tidbits like this that open my eyes to what I am seeing and learning in nature each month. I wonder what the rest of May has in store for us?

Plant Observations
Flowering

• anemone, false rue

  

  Rue anemone

• anemone, rue
• anemone, wood
• bellwort, large-leaved
• bishop’s cap (two-leaf miterwort)
• buttercup, bristly
• buttercup, early
• buttercup, littleleaf
• buttercup, prairie
• columbine, red
• Dutchman’s breeches

  

  Showy orchis

• fern, brittle bladderfern 
• fern, bulblet bladderfern
• fern, interrupted 
• fern, lady
• fern, northern maidenhair
• fern, ostrich
• fern, rockcap
• groundsel, prairie
• Jack-in-the-pulpit
• lupine, wild
• plantain, Robin’s 
• prairie smoke
• puccoon, hoary
• pussytoes, field
• rockcress, lyreleaf
• rockcress, tower

  

  Drooping trillium or wakerobin

• sedge, clustered field
• sedge, needleleaf
• sand cherry
• shooting star, jeweled
• showy orchis
• Solomon’s seal, starry false
• spring beauty
• squirrel corn
• trillium, drooping (drooping wakerobin)
• trillium, white
• violet, birdfoot
• violet, common blue
• violet, downy yellow
• waterleaf, great
• waterleaf, Virginia
• wild ginger
• wild sarsaparilla
• wild strawberry
• wintercress

Sprouting/greened/budded

• aster, western silver

  

  Wild lupine buds

• Canada mayflower
• candle anemone
• cohosh, blue
• goldenrods
• meadow rue
• puccoon, hairy
• Solomon’s seal, smooth
• spurge, cypress
• toadflax, bastard
• wild bergamot
• yarrow

Past Bloom

• bloodroot
• Dutchman’s breeches
• hepatica, sharplobe
• Pasque flower

Fungi/Moss/Lichen

Great-scented liverwort

• lichen, great-scented liverwort
  
• moss, pincushion
• moss, woodsy-thyme
• mushroom, Dryad’s saddle
• mushroom, morel

Wildlife (seen, heard, detected)

Birds

• blackbird, red-winged
• blue jay
• cardinal, northern
• chickadee, black-capped
• cowbird, brown-headed
• crow, American
• eagle, bald
• flicker, northern
• flycatcher, least
• gnat-catcher, blue-gray
• goldfinch, American
• grosbeak, red-breasted
• indigo bunting
• killdeer
• kinglet, red-crowned
• meadowlark, eastern
• nuthatch, white-breasted
• oriole,Baltimore
• osprey
• redstart, American
• robin, American 
• scarlet tanager
• sparrow, clay-colored
• sparrow, field
• sparrow, house
• sparrow, song
• sparrow, swamp
• sparrow, white-throated
• swallow, barn
• swallow, rough-winged

  

  Yellow-rumped warbler aka butter-butt

• swallow, tree
• thrush, wood
• titmouse, tufted
• towhee, eastern
• turkey, wild
• vireo, red-eyed
• vireo, warbling
• vireo, yellow-throated
• vulture, turkey
• warbler, blackpoll
• warbler, cerulean
• warbler, chestnut sided
• warbler, Nashville
• warbler, orange-crowned
• warbler, palm
• warbler, Tennessee 
• warbler, yellow
• warbler, yellow-rumped 
• warbler, yellow-throated 
• waterthrush, northern
• woodpecker, downy
• woodpecker, pileated
• woodpecker, red-bellied
• woodpecker, red-headed
• wren, house

Waterfowl

• cormorant, double-crested
• duck, gadwell
• duck, hooded merganser 
• duck, mallard
• duck, wood
• egret, great
• goose, Canada
• grebe, pie-billed
• heron, great blue
• swan, trumpeter

Reptiles/Amphibians

• turtle, painted

Insects

• butterfly, blue azure
• butterfly, pearl crescent
• butterfly, tiger swallowtail
• bumblebees, many queens!

Mammals

• beaver
• squirrel

Mollusks

• snail shell, tiger flame tail
• snail shell, broad-banded forest

Ely MN Hiking Observations

Plants:

Sprouted

Tiny jack pine pinecone

• alumroot 
• anemone, wood
• aster, large-leaved
• avens, white
• bearberry
• blueberry, low bush
• buttercup, meadow
• Canada mayflower
• cinquefoil, rough
• columbine
• fern, rockcap
• fern Spinulose wood
• hawkweed, rattlesnake
• hepatica, roundlobed (bloomed) 
• lily, bluebead
• oatgrass
• pinecone, jack pine
• pipsissewa
• primrose, evening
• pussytoe
• rockcress, tower
• wild strawberry 
• wintergreen
• wintergreen, liverleaf
• wintergreen, pink

Fungi/moss/lichen

Witch's butter fungi

• clubmoss, treelike
• fungi, witch's butter
• moss, broom forkmoss
• moss, Juniper haircap
• moss, red-stemmed feather
• moss, rock spike

Wildlife:

• blackbird, red-winged
• blue jay
• butterfly, mourning cloak
• butterfly, northern azure
• chickadee, black-capped
• crow, American
• eagle, bald
• finch, purple
• flicker, northern
• flycatcher, least
• frog, chorus
• frog, spring peeper
• goldfinch
• grouse (drumming)
• hawk, broad-winged
• junco, dark-eyed
• kinglet, gold-crowned
• kinglet, ruby-crowned
• loon
• nuthatch, red-breasted
• ovenbird
• raven
• robin
• sapsucker, yellow-bellied
• sparrow, chipping
• sparrow, song
• sparrow, swamp
• sparrow, white-throated
• thrush, hermit
• thrush, Swainson's 
• warbler, black-and-white
• warbler, black-throated green
• warbler, blackburnian 
• warbler, Magnolia
• warbler, Nashville
• warbler, palm
• warbler, pine
• warbler, yellow
• warbler, yellow-rumped
• waterthrush, northern 
• whip-poor-will, eastern
• woodpecker, hairy
• wren, winter

What are YOU seeing on your hikes?

A month of hikes
Hikes below in colored, bold type or underlined have links to previous posts OR descriptions/location of the trails found online.

Holland Sand Prairie, Holman WI (2); Wyalusing State Park, Bridgeport, WI (2); Lytle’s Landing, Brice Prairie WI; Perrot State Park , Trempealeau WI; La Crosse Marsh Trail, La Crosse WI; Yellow River State Forest, Harpers Ferry IA; Laurentian Divide trails, Superior National Forest, MN; Secret/Blackstone Lakes Trail, Superior National Forest, Ely MN (2); Bass/Dry Lake Trail, Superior National Forest, Ely MN

                  Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

Essen Lake - a great spot to relax and enjoy along the trail

The "I Spy on the Trails" column is a phenology (the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals) journal to chronicle year-round the weather, plant life and wildlife I observe while hiking. It is very useful in helping me compare observations from year-to-year. The column is published monthly from September through April and then twice-a-month from May through August when warm weather brings the natural world back to vibrant life.

Capturing a shot of the rare showy orchis
Image - Lavon Court

Lights Out Alert For Migrating Birds

I just received this email and am passing it on to all our Driftless friends, not just in Wisconsin but in Minnesota and Iowa as well. Please help our migrating songbirds as they arrive for nesting or pass through to nesting grounds further north.

Lights Out Alert issued statewide in Wisconsin for the night of Thursday, May 14 and next 2 weeks!

Another massive wave of migrating birds is on its way to Wisconsin, bringing calls from scientists to turn off non-essential outdoor lights on the night of May 14 and other nights over the next two weeks when Lights Out Alerts are forecast in some or all of the state.

Lights Out Wisconsin is urging everyone to turn off or dim non-essential outdoor lights and close window shades from 11 p.m.–6 a.m. to help birds safely migrate.

Most migratory birds fly at night, and artificial light can disorient them, drawing them into developed areas where they face greater risks, especially from window collisions. Even one night of darker skies can save thousands of birds.

How to help in coming days:

🪟 Put up a window treatment on your worst window(s) for birds (the window/s they hit).

🌙 Put exterior lights on motion sensors, timers, or dimmers so they’re only on when needed.

💡 If lights must be on, use warm/amber outdoor lights: aim for ~2200 K or lower when possible (lower Kelvin = less blue light).

✨ Choose fully shielded, downward-facing fixtures and aim light only where required to avoid trespass and skyglow.

Thank you very much for helping make migration safer for birds!

Learn more on the Lights Out Wisconsin website

Lights Out Wisconsin is a coalition of Wisconsin conservation groups and dark sky organizations working together to reduce the impacts of light pollution on people, wildlife and the night sky.

Wyalusing (WI) State Park Bluff Trail

The beginning of the trail
Image - Kris Lawson

Wyalusing State Park has many amazing bluff and prairie trails to wander up and down on. If you don't mind heights and a few vertiginous spots on a narrow bluffside trail - and are down for finding absolute carpets of spring ephemerals and a rare geological wonder, the Bluff Trail is a particularly stunning one to hike.

This short 0.9 mile trail begins in the large parking lot leading to the Lookout Point viewshed (just past the junction of Long Valley Rd). From the parking lot, you walk down a paved path to a spectacular view overlooking the confluence of the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers. Don't be surprised to get an eye level view of bald eagles circling on thermals on sunny days. There is also a marker commemorating Marquette and Joliet's landing in the 1670's.

So many wildflowers
Image - Kris Lawson

From the lookout, turn right and begin your descent to the trailhead. This hill is lush with ephemerals. Sharplobe hepatica, shooting stars, Jack-in-the-pulpit, bellworts, bishop's cap, anemones, trilliums and Solomon seal are just a few of the succession of forbs you’ll see in April through early June.

River views & steep slopes

At the trailhead, turn left onto a series of rock and wood/dirt steps that quickly descend over 170 feet to the fairly level but narrow dirt trail. On your left side are sharp drops but stunning views of the Wisconsin River and bluffs along the Mississippi River. On your right side, you will be treated to towering limestone cliffs and hillsides full of ephemerals.

Many of these limestone cliffs feature algific (cold air) talus (loose rock) slopes. They are a geological wonder. These rare, steep, north-facing slopes are found mostly in the Driftless region of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and especially in Iowa. The slopes vent out cool air during warm seasons. 

What causes these slopes and venting?

Outside temp

The habitat and ecosystem associated with algific talus slopes are the result of the limestone's slow erosion. That erosion creates porous fractures throughout the limestone. There is a slate or shale layer beneath the limestone that is impermeable.  So the water stays at that barrier and freezes during the winter. As it slowly melts in warmer weather, the water vapor and cooled air flow out of multiple fractures and vents in the rocks in the surrounding area. This cooler air results in a habitat supporting rare flowers and invertebrates that thrive in moist, cool environments and limestone soils.

Temp inside the cliff air vent

When I left a thermometer in one of the vents while we walked the trail on an out-and-back hike during a day in the low 80s, on our return to retrieve the thermometer, the air in the vent clocked in at 50F! That was a fun experiment.

Land snail shell

In my hikes on Bluff Trail in the last few weeks, these cool north-facing slopes were full of tiny mollusk shells, a profusion of bulblet bladderferns and shooting stars (which love limestone soils), great-scented liverwort and woodsy thyme moss among many other ephemerals including two-leaf miterwort, bellflowers, drooping trilliums, Jack-in-the-pulpits and smooth and false Solomon's seal.

Cool-air vents in the keyhole
Image - Kris Lawson

You can choose this out-and-back route for a pretty gorgeous 1.8 mile hike that affords spectacular river views on the way back. As you return, stand in the keyhole opening to the right of the initial first flight of stone steps.You will be blasted by cool air venting out as you stand there. From mid-May through October 1, you can pass through the keyhole to Treasure Cave down steep steps and then up steep steps into it. The cave is closed from October through mid-May. This is a bat hibernaculum for the little brown bat, a protected species.

You can also take advantage of other options to create a loop hikes from Bluff Trail if you prefer. These options include: 

• taking your first right up a steep hill to the campground road and hiking the road past campers and views (.8 miles on that part of the loop)
• continuing on to the second right on Old Wagon Road trail to make a loop to a parking area and following the road back (.8 miles on that part of the loop)
• turning left on Immigrant Trail and descending to the river level before heading back up to return to the parking lot (for an additional 2.6 miles). Caution: as of May 2026, the trail is temporarily closed due to flooding

No matter which way you take, don't miss the Bluff trail portion.You'll be glad you took it.

The confluence of the Wisconsin (right) and Mississippi (left) rivers

THE HIKE

A spring beauty still thrives in cold vented air

A short 1.8 mile out-and-back hike descends 174 feet down stone and wood steps to a narrow dirt trail along steep algific talus limestone cliffs. This vented cool-air habitat is a spring ephemeral and rare species paradise of lush growth and some rare limestone-loving plants. Spectacular views of the rivers and surrounding bluffs and communities makes the campground 200 feet above the trail feel miles away. An out-and-back hike on this trail is worth any brief vertiginous moment you may experience (pro tip: keep your eyes to the flower and fern covered slope if you do experience dizziness). Moderate due to slope and descent.

The Location
Wyalusing State Park, 13081 State Park Road, Bagley WI

Past the entrance's Visitor Center,  stay on the main road. After Long Valley Rd, take the first left into the parking lot for Lookout Point. The trail begins to the right of the lookout.

Images, unless notes - Marge Loch-Wouters

Bulblet bladderfern loves limestone soils and cool air vents

Looking for more area hikes? Please stop by the web version of the blog and under the "Labels" tab on the right hand side of the blog, click on "find-a-hike". There are over 75 hike descriptions and lists of hikes to try!

You can read my quarterly column on seasonal hiking suggestions in Inspire(d) Driftless Magazine available online or pick up a free copy at businesses and organizations around the Driftless areas of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Nature School - Coulee Region Audubon Society

Dan Jackson locating birs by listening

The Coulee Region Audubon Society is a longtime organization serving Northeastern Iowa, Southeastern Minnesota and Southwestern Wisconsin. They are dedicated to protecting birds and conserving bird habitats and to the education of people of all ages through our meetings, events, field trips, and other programs.

It is this educational component that makes their guided field trips and efforts in the Driftless region perfect.  You can support their mission and learn a ton along the way at their "nature schools."

I have long been interested in their early spring migratory bird hikes in the La Crosse area. These crack-of-dawn-hikes (6:30-8:00am) are the perfect time to hear bird song and see active early birds.  I've thought, "I can't get up and about that early". Was I ever wrong! This year I made a commitment to go on some of the marsh hikes to increase my bird knowledge. Best time I've spent in bird learning in a long time.

These free hikes are scheduled annually for three consecutive weeks in late April to early May. On Tuesdays, everyone meets at La Crosse's Myrick Park The Nature Place and heads out on the marsh trails to catch songbird, shorebird and waterfowl action. On Thursdays, the focus shifts to the lower parking area at Hixon Forest for an amble along the edge of forestland. 

Spotting a bird

Led by Dan Jackson, the participants include seasoned society members, birders and newbies like me. The pace is slow and when one of the 35-40 birds is spotted or heard, the group stops to pinpoint the location. It's binoculars and cameras up as we scan the canopy. We follow Dan's unerring ear and green laser light to spot the smallest of the migrating songbirds or summer resident birds that have recently migrated to the area from wintering grounds.

Dan has an encyclopedic knowledge of bird song, behavior, preferred habitat, flight and wing patterns and I swear, he is a bird whisperer. Like all great birders, he has his eyes and ears attuned and can quickly point out a rare diving caspian tern or osprey, a hooded merganser in flight or a hopping northern waterthrush. And don't get me started on his warbler ID skills.

Warbling vireo
Image - Gwyn Calvetti from CRAS website

All along the walk he identifies birds by song and note as he stops and the group locates the bird in trees or shore. He patiently works with participants so we can all see a bird he has spotted. Other knowledgeable birders on these guided hike contribute as well. 

I can't recommend these nature school guided bird hikes enough. You will leave with much more knowledge than when you started and meet some great people too ! Here are the next three guided hikes as well as other guided birding hikes and events they sponsor.

Hixon Forest Bird Walk

 - Thursday, May 7                      6:30-8:00 am

 - Hixon Forest, lower parking lot, La Crosse WI

We will meet at the Hixon Forest parking lot at the end of Milson Court. We will walk a loop on the lower trails that follow the north edge of the golf course.

Myrick Marsh Bird Walk

 - Tuesday, May 12                 6:30-8:00 am

 - The Nature Place, 789 Myrick Park , La Crosse WI

We will meet at head of main trail at the east side of the Nature Place parking lot. We will walk a loop on the marsh trails and be back at the parking lot around 8:00. All are welcome and it is free and open to the public. 

Hixon Forest Bird Walk

 - Thursday, May 14                    6:30-8:00 am

 - Hixon Forest, lower parking lot, La Crosse WI

We will meet at the Hixon Forest parking lot at the end of Milson Court. We will walk a loop on the lower trails that follow the north edge of the golf course. All are welcome and it is free and open to the public. 

Images, unless Noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

Nature School is what I like to call the guided hikes I go on when I’ve a mind to learn more about the natural world and to fulfill my required training hours to maintain my annual Master Naturalist volunteer certification. The Nature School series highlights parks, organizations and groups that provide free or low-cost guided learning experiences while hiking. The Driftless area of MN, WI and IA is rich in dedicated biologists, naturalists and citizen scientists who share their knowledge, passion and expertise. By doing so, they help hikers of all ages better understand our natural world. It’s always a delight to attend their “schools.”

Nature Sneak Peak - May 2026

Trout lilies

Well, April showers did not disappoint so the end of that month gave us first glimpses of our May - early arrival of dandelions, explosive lawn growth, flowering fruit trees and shrubs - all hallmarks of  the month of May and Mother's Day.

Now that the growing season is upon us, here are a few things to look for in your May hiking and excursions into nature.

Wetlands

Virginia bluebells
Duck Egg County Forest, Viroqua WI

Virginia Bluebells - these lovely blue-and-pink flowered plants love wet feet and are best found in wetlands. Carley (MN) State Park has scads of them as do the lower trails of Duck Egg County Forest near Viroqua WI. 

Trout Lilies - are ready to open and curl back their white or yellow bells. They like damp feet and can be found in profusion near water, floodplains and moist woods

Frogs - The singing continues with wood frogs and leopard frogs joining the peepers and chorus frogs. American toads add their trill for a short time during the month. 

Long-legged Shore Birds - Herons, egrets and sandhill cranes are all back and feasting on fish and amphibians

Thigh-high Jack-in-the-pulpit
South Park, Houston
Image - Mike Bonner

Woods
Jack-in-the-Pulpits - are springing up (and in some natural areas, waaaay up) in May. They are fascinating flowers, choosing their gender from year to year. According to the Minnesota Wildflowers website: "Males tend to be smaller than females and have a small hole at the bottom of the spathe (the "hood) which allows pollinators to escape (with their pollen) more easily. Female plants lack the hole and pollinators are more likely to become trapped, better ensuring successful pollination. Sneaky devils."

Trilliums - the short blooming season and carpets of the large-flowered trillium make it a showstopper in the woods. Sharp-eyed hikers can spot the more rare nodding trillium by looking below the leaves to find its white flower with distinctive pinkish purple tips (anthers). Ants are it's pollinators.

Shooting star

Shooting Stars - our Driftless area is rich in these bright purple-pink, limestone-loving ephemerals. Hotspots to find them - blufftops in Wyalusing (WI) State Park, La Crescent's Stoney Point and Perrot (WI) State Park.

Ferns - turning to our showiest greens, ferns are bursting out and gaining height as they unfurl. Look for maidenhair, interrupted, lady, wood, ostrich, cliff, bladder and rock ferns as you walk. My two favorite fern hikes are at Winona's Bluffside Park Wildwood Trail and Rushford's Maglesson's Bluff.  It is fern heaven at a number of places along these trails.

Bishop's cap
Note the 5 tiny fronds
on the tip of each flower

Bishop's Cap  - aka Two-leaf Miterwort, is a tiny but distinct ephemeral. Each flower on its stalk is shaped like a miter (bishop's cap) with fearthery fronds at the tip. Two distinct opposite leaves halfway up the stalk clinch the identification. One of my personal favorites.

Leaves - and shade are back, baby. May is the time of more fully leafed-out trees that shade our walks and provide energy for each tree's growth year. They are always welcome in the Driftless even if we do have to bid farewll to our sun-loving first ephemerals.

Prairies
Prairie Smoke - for my money, one of the most beautiful first flowers of the prairies. A breezy day always finds me on prairies like Holland Sand Prairie enjoying their delicate fuzzy pink flower fronds blowing in the wind. They are also known as "old man's whiskers."

A sea of May lupines & puccoons
Trempealeau Wildlife Refuge

Wild Lupine - during certain years, these deeply purple-blue flower stalks create oceans of color on sand prairies. On good bloom years, the best reliable display is found at Trempealeau Wildlife Refuge on their Prairie Edge Loop (driving, hiking, biking) trail. Wowser.

Male field pussytoe

Field Pussytoes - these humble, short, white plants hug the ground. You need a sharp eye to find them. The male and female flowers are distinct. The females appear furrier with five distinct “toes” like their namesakes. The males are less fuzzy with their brownish stamens protruding above their scalier flowers. Keep a sharp eye out to see them above their grayish basal leaves.

Hoary puccoon

Hoary Puccoon - this impossibly bright orange-yellow flower is also impossible to miss on the prairie. Closely related is the Carolina or hairy puccoon - both continue blooming right into the summer.

Birdfoot Violet - this rare species of violet sports a deep purple bloom with neon bright stamen. What sets it apart from the more  common blue violet are its leaves at the base of the plant. They are lobed and remind one of a bird’s foot. Always a delightful find!

Birds
Warbler Migration - continues with many species resting briefly before continuing on to nesting grounds further north. Yellow-rumped, prothonotary, and palm warblers are a few that will remain here to nest and raise their young. Be sure to keep your binoculars handy and your ears sharp. The Merlin app can help you with this!

The Color Guard - rainbow-bright birds like Baltimore orioles, scarlet tanagers, indigo buntings, rose-breasted grosbeaks and yellowthroats return to begin their nesting season. They bring additional sounds to nature walks.

Orange-crowned warbler, Frontenac (MN) State Park 
Image Steve Dietz

I hope you get out on the trails this month. The weather is bound to warm up, right? 

No matter where you go, be curious. Take some extra time to look and see what you can see along the trail. You’ll be delighted!

Prairie smoke aka Old Man's Whiskers

If you're interested in some great Driftless hiking destinations to find the above May treats, please stop here for my top picks.  See you on the trails! 

Birdfoot violet

\

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

I Spy on the Trails - April 2026

April wildflowers along the trail
Beaver Creek Valley (MN) State Park

Some weather we’ve been having. Not as much warmth and sun during the first half of the month and succeeding days of horrific storms with high winds, sporadic tornadoes and hail from pea-sized to baseball-sized swirling around the Driftless. A brief cold snap in the second half of the month was followed by welcome warmer temps before a plunge into the 30’s followed by 70s followed by 50s followed by…is your head spinning yet? April showers raised river and creek levels, and jumpstarted leaf, grass and dandelion growth. I went though my full annual panoply of hiking clothes and gear on April hiking adventures!

Meanwhile the woods are waking up throughout the region. There is a colorful palette of early ephemeral risers - bloodroot, ramps, Dutchman's breeches, shooting star, Pasque flower, bishop's cap (twoleaf miterwort), springbeauty, trout lily, hepatica, bellwort as well as hardier plants like pussytoes and rockcress lyreleaf. Every day in woods, wetlands and prairies, there are delights to be found.

My favorite find this month was a small patch of snow trillium, growing a short way up an algific talus slope. These small, very rare, long-lived trillium are most often found on limestone soil in late winter/early spring. Unlike most trillium, they are not found in leaf litter. To actually see this endangered plant blooming is amazing. It was my first-ever sighting and made me feel like my sheroes, the Flower Chasers!

GranstaffCanyon, Moab UT
Image - Kris Lawson

In mid-April, I joined some of my local hiking buddies for a week-long spring hiking trip to Utah. I usually head there in late fall. Going in spring, with so many blooming desert wildflowers, was a revelation - and a real delight for the eyes and senses.

I hope you can get into any nearby woods in the next few weeks to spot/listen for warblers migrating through and the ephemerals poking up into the sun before they are shaded out by leaves. It is truly a glorious time to be hiking!

Plant Observations
Flowering:

• anemone, false rue

  

  Bishop's cap

• anemone, rue
• anemone, wood
• bellwort, large-flowered
• bishop's cap (two-leaf miterwort)
• bittercress
• bluebell, Virginia
• bloodroot
• buttercup, bristly
• buttercup, little-leaf
• buttercup, prairie
• dutchman's breeches
• fern brittle bladderwort
• fern, lady
• fern, bulblet bladderfern
• fern, lowland bladder fern
• fern, ostrich
• fern, rockcap

  

  Brittle bladderfern

  
  
• fern, spinulose wood
• fern, walking
• hepatica, roundlobe
• hepatica, sharplobe
• Jack-in-the-pulpit
• lyreleaf rockcress
• moonseed, common
• orchid, showy
• Pasque flower
• phlox, wild blue
• pussytoes, field 
• ramps
• sedge, longbeak
• sedge, Pennsylvania
• shooting star

  

  Birdfoot violet

  
  
• springbeauty
  
• toothwort , cutleaf 
• trillium, white
• trout lily
• wakerobin, nodding
• waterleaf, Virginia
• violet, birdfoot
• violet common blue
• violet, downy yellow
• wild ginger

Sprouting:

• anemone, candle
• avens, white
• bastard toadflax
• beardtongue, large
• beebalm, spotted
• carrionflower, upright
• cecily, sweet
• chervil
• cohosh, blue
• columbine
• fern, northern maidenhair
• geranium, wild
• golden alexander
• goldenrods
• Jacob's ladder
• jewelweed
• leafcup, small flowered

  

  Rattlesnake plantain

  
  
• mayapple
• orchis, showy (orchid)
• plantain, rattlesnake
• prairie smoke
• puccoon, hairy
• rattlesnakeroot, white
• sedge, white bear
• snakeroot, black
• Solomon's seal, false
• Solomon’s seal, smooth
• spleenwort, ebony
• wakerobin, nodding
• wintercress
• yarrow

Fungi/Moss/Lichen

• lichen, great scented liverwort

  

  Pig's Ear fungi

  
  
• moss, American tree
• moss, delicate fern
• moss, haircap
• moss, silvery thread
• moss, woodsy-thyme
• mushroom, Dryad’s saddle
• mushroom, oyster
• mushroom, golden oyster
• mushroom, pig’s ear (gyomitra perlata)

Wildlife observations (seen, heard, detected)
Birds

• blackbird, red-winged
• blackbird, rusty
• bluebird
• blue jay
• cardinal, northern
• chickadee, black-capped
• cowbird, brown-headed
• crow, American
• eagle, bald
• finch, house
• flicker, northern
• gnatcatcher, blue-gray
• goldfinch
• grosbeak, rose-breasred
• hawk, Cooper’s
• hawk, red-tailed

  

  Getting a hawks-eye view
  Wyalusing (WI) State Park

  
  
• killdeer
• kinglet, gold-crowned
• kinglet, ruby-crowned
• kingfisher, belted
• meadowlark, eastern
• nuthatch, white-breasted
• owl, barred
• phoebe, eastern
• robin, American
• sparrow, clay-colored
• sparrow, field
• sparrow, house
• sparrow, song
• sparrow, swamp
• sparrow, white-throated
• swallow, northern rough-winged, 
• swallow, bank
• swallow, tree
• titmouse, tufted
• towhee, eastern
• turkey, wild
• warbler, black-and-white
• warbler, cerulean
• warbler, golden-winged
• warbler, palm
• warbler, yellow
• warbler, yellow-rumped
• waterthrush, northern
• woodpecker, downy
• woodpecker, hairy
• woodpecker, pileated
• woodpecker, red-belllied
• wren, Carolina
• wren, northern house

Waterfowl:

• cormorant, double crested
• crane, sandhill
• egret
• duck, bufflehead
• duck, mallard
• duck, northern shoveler
• goose, Canada
• grebe, pied-billed
• heron, blue
• pelican
• tern, Caspian
• wood duck

Mammals

• Little brown bat

Insects/Arachnids

• beetle, red-necked false blister

  

  Juvenal duskywiing butterfly

• bumblebee, common, queen
• butterfly, blue azure
• butterfly, comma
• butterfly, duskywing, Juvenal
• butterfly, tiger swallowtail

Utah Hiking Observations

Plants

• bitterbrush
• blackbrush
• bristly fiddleneck

  

  Claretcup cactus
  Canyonlands Needles district, UT

  
  
• broom snakeweed
• claret cup cactus
• desert biscuitroot
• desert globe mallow
• desert princesplume
• evening primrose, birdcage
• evening primrose, tufted 
• firecracker penstemon
• globmallow, gray
• London rocket
• mat rock spirea
• Mormon tea (ephedra)
• narrowleaf yucca
• northwestern indian paintbrush
• redstem stork's bill
• rose-heath
• scorpionweed
• scrub oak
• shadscale saltbush
• silky lupine
• southern maidenhair fern
• spreading fleabane
• stemmy four-nerve daisy
• sweet alyssum
• tamarisk
• Utah juniper
• western tansy mustard
• western wallflower
• wooly bluestar

What are YOU seeing on your hikes?

A month of hikes
Hikes below in colored, bold type or underlined have links to previous posts OR descriptions/location 
of the trails found online.

Holland Sand Prairie, Holman WI (4); Great River Bluff State Park, Nodine MN; Yellow River State Forest, Harper’s Ferry, IA (2); Riverside Park, La Crosse, WI; Fish Farm Mounds SNA, New Albin, IA, Trollkor’s Trail, Decorah IA; Norwegian Ridge, Spring Grove, MN; Wyalusing State Park, Bridgeport, WI; Beaver Creek Valley State Park, Caledonia MN; Chicago urban hiking, Chicago IL; La Crosse Marsh Trail, La Crosse WI; Duck Egg County Forest, Vernon County WI; 

Utah hikes: Arches National Park, Moab UT; Canyonlands National Park, Moab UT (2); Granstaff Canyon, Moab UT; Goblin Valley State Park, Hanksville UT (2); Fisher Towers, Moab UT

Images, unless noted - Marge Loch-Wouters

Trout Run Trail, Decorah IA

The "I Spy on the Trails" column is a phenology (the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals) journal to chronicle year-round the weather, plant life and wildlife I observe while hiking. It is very useful in helping me compare observations from year-to-year. The column is published monthly from September through April and then twice-a-month from May through August when warm weather brings the natural world back to vibrant life.

Checking out the desert blooms
Fisher Towers, UT