Teaching Children the Sights of Spring

While being quarantined is not an activity that most of us would look forward to, staying home during the spring season means there is a lot going on in our own backyards and neighborhoods that we can use to create a fun scavenger hunt with our children. Springtime brings about a fresh new wave of life, including the return of several species of birds and the emergence of a variety of tree leaves. Read on to learn about an unusual insect that resembles a bird, and a few of the most common trees you can teach  your children and play a game of I-spy with.

The hummingbird moth, a whimsical flying insect that bears the resemblance of a hummingbird and a rather large moth, begins to take flight in spring and continues to be present through the summer months. Similar to hummingbirds, these moths feed on long-necked flowers and hover in place with the help of fast-beating wings. A few of their favorite flowers to visit include honeysuckle, bee balm, lemon verbena, and phlox. If you grow these flowers, or have plants in your garden that are known to attract hummingbirds, you are likely to be visited by the hummingbird moth. And for the tomato growers out there, those large, bright green caterpillars that are capable of completely decimating your tomato plant in a matter of days, complete their lifecycle as a hummingbird moth. Keep an eye out for these flying creatures between early afternoon to evening, their preferred feeding times. If you see some, we would love to hear about it! Send us an email.

For more fun facts and a video of the hummingbird moth in action, check out this website.

If you’ve been taking walks around your neighborhood or out on the W&OD Trail, you’ve probably noticed the explosion of green leaves and pink flowers happening all around. Here in northern Virginia, we have many native species of deciduous trees (those trees which lose their leaves every winter) that are fun to identify. Some of the most common trees include: maple trees, oak trees, redbuds, sycamores, and river birches.

Maple leaves come in many varieties, ranging in size and the pointiness of their tips. They can also be identified by their notable seed pods, shown here.

Oak leaves can also vary in their roundness or hardness.

Redbuds stand out with their bright pink flower clusters, and heart shaped leaves.

Sycamore trees can be spotted by their peeling bark and bright white tops. Their bark flakes off in round chips, and their leaves are similar to maple leaves.

River Birch trees are commonly planted in neighborhoods, and their bark also peels, but in horizontal strips, quite different from the sycamore tree. They often have multiple trunks, or “leaders”, usually 2 or 3, but sometimes 4 or 5. Their leaf has a similar silhouette to a Christmas tree.