Home About BCNA Calendar Classes Volunteer Opportunities Contact Us
January February March April May June
July August September October November December

Listen to Nature Almanac
on KGNU Radio,
88.5 FM, 1390 AM
Fri, March 4, 2011, 8:06 a.m.
Click for these KGNU
March Nature Almanac Shows:
  • 2010 St. Vrain Greenway
  • 2009 Bald Eagle Nests
  • 2008 Golden Eagle Nests
  • 2007 Valmont Duck Sauna
  • 2006 Dinosaur Ridge
  • 2005 Sandstone Ranch
  • 2004 March Flowers & Birds
  • 2003 Butterflies & Flowers
  • 2002 Mesa Tr. Golden Eagles
  • 2001 Dinosaur Ridge
Each show runs about 3.5 minutes. The mp3 files are about 3.5 MB; the time to load depends on your connection speed. Problems? Click here.

Boulder Weather

Avg. High: 51° F
Avg. Low: 27° F

Max. High: 83° F (1910)
Min. Low: -13° F (1932)

Avg. Precip: 1.68"
Max. Precip: 5.44" (2003)

Avg.Snow: 17.4"
Max. Snow: 56.7" (1970)

Max wind: 106 mph (1991)

March Wildflowers

 Click for larger images.

Early Easter Daisy
Townsendia hookeri  

 

Spring Beauty
Claytonia rosea

 

Pasqueflower
Pulsatilla patens


Mountain Bluebirds return to Boulder County in March. In April, they are conspicuous as they select among the nest boxes at Walker Ranch.

If Emily Dickinson had lived in Colorado, the mountain bluebird might have been the species that inspired her line, "Hope is the thing with feathers." It's the northward migration of bluebirds, not the appearance of robins (year-round Colorado residents) that signals spring in Boulder County.

A few mountain and western bluebirds may overwinter in Boulder County, but the first good-sized flocks usually arrive here in late February or early March. These cavity-nesters use old woodpecker holes in aspens and ponderosa pines, and readily take to birdhouses if the entrance hole is 1 9/16" in diameter.

Western bluebirds were listed as "rare and declining" in Boulder County as recently as 1990. Retention of standing dead trees and erection of artificial nest boxes has contributed to their recovery. A bluebird trail at Walker Ranch Open Space fledged 80 mountain and 41 western bluebirds in 2006. The trail, consisting of 48 nest boxes, is maintained by Boulder County Audubon.

Other March Events

  • Bald Eagles (cottonwoods on plains) and Golden Eagles (cliffs and foothills) refurbish nests and lay their eggs.
  • Chorus Frogs chirrup in prairie wetlands.
  • Snowshoe Hares and Long-tailed Weasels begin their pre-vernal molt.
  • Rainbow trout spawn.
  • A half-million migrating Sandhill Cranes gather along the Platte River in central Nebraska.

March 2010 Events

March 20, 10:12 a.m.: Vernal Equinox. This is a time for blessing the fields and animals. Eggs are painted and used in rituals. Flowers are worn and placed on altars. The Greek festival of Aphrodite was held around April 1. Eoaster is the Saxon fertility goddess.

March 22: Saturn is at opposition (closest to Earth and brightly lit by the sun), though its rings are edge-on and difficult to see.

March 29: Full moon rises at 6:24 p.m.

  • Sore Eyes (Lakota)
  • Buffaloes Dropping Their Calves (Arapaho)
  • Water Stands in Ponds (Ponca)

Photo credits: Bluebird: George Oetzel
Flowers: Steve Jones

Read Ruth Carol Cushman and Stephen Jones's Nature Almanac column in the Daily Camera "Get Out" section the first Friday of each month. Some of the above text is from the March, 2006 column and reproduced with permission from the Daily Camera.

Click logo for KGNU on the Web
B.C.N.A.
P.O. Box 493
Boulder, CO 80306