If you’ve never been to Beech Forest, part of The Province Lands Park of the Cape Cod National Seashore in Provincetown, you might want to add it to your list of places you must visit on the Cape.

Because it is one of the oldest original hardwood forests remaining on the Cape it is a mecca for wildlife but especially for migrating songbirds. May is an amazing time to visit Beech Forest and I try to get up there at least once or twice during the warbler migration.

At this time of year the trees are just starting to leaf out and the forest floor is full of the small early blooming plants that always make my winter weary heart sing…

There are the sunny little star flowers….

interspersed with the Canada mayflowers,  not to be confused with trailing arbutus, also called mayflower….We even saw our very first Lady’s slippers of the season….

High bush blueberries were in bloom….

And the water lilies were just starting to emerge on the pond…

The grasses and other pond plants against the bright water almost looked like impressionist paintings on the morning we were there…

We ran into lots of friends along the way such as these geese…

and this little red squirrel…

and of course, one of the very tame chickadees that abound there. Someone started feeding chickadees and titmice at Beech Forest years ago and they will follow you and land on your head looking for seed. This one chose my hand instead. I always consider it an honor when a bird wants to hang out that close to me…

We took our time looking and listening and I did a fair amount of sketching while I walked as well. Later I sat under the trees at a picnic table there and finished off the sketches with watercolors.

What a great way to spend a morning! I highly recommend it! And oh yeah, it was filled with birdsong and all sorts of warblers….but my phone camera was not up to the task of photographing them.