Field Guide

Sapsuckers tap-tap-tap small holes into tree trunks, making the sap seep. Their numbers will peak in March as they migrate north to breed.

When we get warm days, the earliest flowers will open, and early-emerging bees will visit them. Queen bumblebees and certain andrenids are some of the first.

These rare and impressive waterfowl will be in Missouri until late March at marshes, lakes, and rivers, sometimes in stubble fields, especially near water.

Squirrels lick the sweet sap that drains from sapsucker drill holes and chew maple flower buds. Their first litters are born in February or March.