April 28 - Pinniped

Pinniped - ("fin-feet" or "winged feet") Typically large, sleek-bodied marine mammals which include: Seals, Sea Lions & Walruses. All pinnipeds are carnivorous, eating fish, shellfish, squid, and other marine creatures. Pinnipeds are protected in United States waters under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

April 27 - Copperhead

Copperhead - A venomous snake in the pit viper family, native to Eastern North America and Northern Mexico. Copperheads account for the most cases of venomous snake bite than any other species. Fortunately their venom is the least toxic of the species, and bites are very seldom fatal but may still cause some serious injury.

Can you say camouflage?










Copperheads rely upon camouflage for safety. When danger is perceived, they will usually "freeze" and remain motionless for the threat to pass. This strategy works well in their natural habitat. Copperheads will usually only bite as a last defense. Their abundance near human habitation is the reason for the high snake bite statistics in the Eastern US.

April 26 - Prairie Merlin

CrossPollination - As bees collect flower nectar to produce their honey, they spread pollen from one flower to another.



MercuryMoon - These two celestial bodies appear together in the morning of April 26.

April 24 - Tufted Puffin

BearBack - Bears emerge from hibernation in April or May. Males emerge first; females with cubs, last.










VenusMoon - These two celestial bodies appear together in the morning of April 24.

April 20 - Cattle Egret

CattleEgret - A small white heron found in the warmer parts of every continent except Antarctica. These birds are often found in dry grassy habitats, and feed on insects, especially grasshoppers, and are usually found with cattle and other large animals which disturb small creatures which the egrets then catch.

April 19 - Quaking Bog

ExtremeMolt - When caterpillar larvae metamorphose, they shed body layers at several stages. The most extreme molt takes place when they morph into butterflies.

April 18 - Jewel Wing

ButterflyBask - Butterflies require warmth to fly. Most butterflies that are active in early spring have dark wings that absorb solar heat.

April 17 - Morel Fruiting

SunWorshipers - When arctic terns fly from pole to pole during spring migration, they leave from total light at the South Pole and arrive at total daylight at the North Pole.

April 14 - Night Heron

CaterpillarFeast - Caterpillars hatch from eggs in early to mid-April; the hatch corresponds to the flowering of their host plants. They then race to eat enough food before their host plants die back in summer.

April 12 - Blue Green Algae

BlueGreenAlgae - Cyanobacteria (Greek) are aquatic and photosynthetic, that is, they live in water, and can manufacture their own food. Because they are bacteria, they are quite small and usually unicellular, though they often grow in colonies large enough to see. They are one of the largest and most important groups of bacteria on Earth.

April 11 - Sand Dabs

PollenDawn - As the sun rises, temperatures rise, creating winds that disperse pollen. Airborne pollen concentrations are usually highest in the mornings.

April 10 - Stinging Nettles

BlueSky - Gas molecules and dust particles in the Earth's atmosphere scatter blue light more than the other colors of the spectrum; thus blue is the sky's predominant color.

When we look towards the Sun at sunset, we see red and orange colors because the blue light has been scattered out and away from the line of sight.

April 7 - Albatross

WingDust - Butterfly wings are covered with colorful scales of dust. This scale comes off easily and helps them escape from spiders' webs.

WaterEverywhere - Springtime growth thrive on water supplies unlocked as temperatures rise. The increase in temperature causes more evaporation; thus there is more water in the air, further increasing snowmelt.

April 6 - Cardinal

Cardinal - This celebrated songbird of the finch family is found throughout North and South America. The males are easily noticed due to their bright crimson plumage; and both sexes can be heard singing their songs all year long. During the spring, breeding and nesting take place with egg incubation between 11 - 13 days. Early April signals hatchlings and raising of the chicks.

Saturn Moon - These two celestial bodies appear together in the evening of April 6.

April 5 - Peat Moss

SpringSky - When we look into the sky on spring nights, we are looking away from the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Therefore we see fewer stars, and they are far beyond our galaxy.

TheKite - It flies off of the Arcturus corner of the Spring Triangle.

Arcturus is an orange giant with an apparent magnitude of -0.04

April 4 - Sandhill

LifeLongWinger - Sandhill cranes are monogamous - they mate only once in a lifetime.






GreenLeaf - Chlorophyll reacts to sunlight and transforms carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen through photosynthesis.

April 3 - Whooping Crane

WhoopingCrane - In April, the majestic and endangered whooping crane arrive at their breeding area in Wood Buffalo National Park. The migrating whooping cranes travel more than 2000 miles in under two weeks. By the end of September, the whoopers leave for the return journey to the Arkansas National Wildlife Range in Texas. In 1995, the US Wildlife officials counted 149 whooping cranes, the most since the census began in the 1930's. They can live up to 24 years in the wild.



MarsMoon - These two celestial bodies appear together in the evening of April 3.