With businesses closed and events canceled, you might have found yourself paying more attention to the natural world around you. Why not turn that passive observation into a fun activity? Catherine Griset, youth programs manager at Maine Audubon in Falmouth, has put together a list of plants, animals and other natural wonders, and where you can spot them, right now in southern Maine. Turn it into a household competition or a way to connect with socially-distant family, friends and neighbors by seeing who can check off all the items first.

_  Bumblebees are busy bumbling around early-blooming flowers

_  Wild strawberries, violets, and dandelions are blooming. Consider delaying mowing (“no mow May”) as these are early nectar sources for bees.

_  Turtles are basking for warmth on sunny logs or rocks.

_  Salamanders or frogs are in ponds and vernal pools. Look and listen for these amphibians or see if you can spot their jelly-like egg masses in the water.

_  Warblers are feeding on insects, many singing loudly, especially black-throated green warblers.

_  Black flies are out! You may not enjoy having these tiny insects around you as you walk or hike this week, but migratory birds are happy to feed on them.

_  The full moon on June 5 is called a strawberry moon because this is the month strawberries start to ripen.

_  Spring ephemerals – Trillium, Trout Lily, Spring Beauty, Bellflower —are up and fading fast on the dappled forest floor.

_  Plovers are starting to nest on southern beaches. Look for Maine Audubon’s coastal bird crew setting up exclosures, and give these endangered birds space.

_  Alewife migration should be starting soon as these fish return to freshwater to spawn.

_  Woodchucks and their young are out for the season, already eating as much green plant material as they can before next fall.

_  Ferns are unfurling! You may have seen some edible fiddleheads; all ferns start out curled up like that.

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