What to look for in nature in Vermont this March

Is March the peak of sugaring season in Vermont?

• Maple Open House Weekend

  Saturday and Sunday, March 20 and 21, 2027, per the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers’ Association · Sugarhouses across the state

  The association’s page lists the 2027 dates and describes the weekend as a chance to visit sugarhouses and see maple made. In 2026, it reports, more than 80 sugarhouses and businesses offered tours, tastings, live music and more. Sugarmaking depends on the weather, so confirm with a sugarhouse that it is open and boiling before you drive.

• From sap to syrup

  Boiling follows each run · Sugarhouses and sugarbushes statewide

  Sugarmakers boil roughly 40 gallons of sap into a gallon of syrup on average, a ratio the association says can range from 20 to 100. Its grades follow the calendar: golden comes early and delicate, amber in the middle, and dark and very dark late and strong.

• Vermont’s crop in numbers

  2026 season · Statewide

  The University of Vermont Extension reports that Vermont produced 3,091,000 gallons of syrup in 2026, 53 percent of the national crop, from 8,200,000 taps, a yield of 0.377 gallons per tap.

• A bird-friendly sugarbush

  Trails open year-round; check Audubon for special days · Green Mountain Audubon Center, Huntington

  Audubon Vermont taps 600 maples every spring and makes nearly 100 gallons of syrup, still gathering sap in buckets and boiling it over a wood fire. The trails through the sugarbush are open year-round, and Audubon has held sugar-on-snow parties during Open House Weekend, so check its calendar for 2027 plans.

When do frogs and salamanders cross Vermont roads?

• Wood frogs

  Late March into April, often while ice still floats on the pool · Vernal pools and woodland ponds statewide

  Wood frogs freeze solid in winter and thaw in spring, then breed in an explosive burst, with most of the mating packed into a few days. Males make loud, duck-like clucking calls, and they outnumber females at the pool by a wide margin.

• Spotted and blue-spotted salamanders

  Warm, rainy nights after the ground thaws · Hardwood forests near breeding pools

  The state’s herpetologist names spotted and blue-spotted salamanders among the amphibians that cross roads in early spring. They spend most of the year out of sight. A Vermont Public volunteer on a Big Night counted spring peepers, wood frogs, yellow-spotted salamanders and four-toed salamanders among several hundred animals helped across a single road. Volunteers on that night moistened their hands before touching any animal.

• Spring peepers

  Late March, according to one Vermont naturalist; check on mild evenings · Shrubby wetlands and pond edges

  The tiny frog with the shrill, rising peep is a sign that the thaw has stuck. Listen for the peepers’ nighttime chorus on mild nights from late March on.

• Helping on the road

  Any Big Night, after dark · Roads between woods and wetlands; crossings in Brattleboro, Hartford and elsewhere

  Roads kill many migrating amphibians, with some stretches losing over half, according to the Atlas’s Jim Andrews. Volunteer groups, including the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center in Brattleboro (organizing crossings for about 20 years as of 2023), the Hartford Salamander Team, North Branch Nature Center and the Cornwall Conservation Commission, train people to carry animals across. Fish & Wildlife’s herpetologist advises using back roads, parking fully off the pavement, wearing an orange vest and flashers, and going with a buddy. VTDigger reported in 2023 that Vermont had only one amphibian underpass, in Monkton.

Which birds return to Vermont in March?

• American woodcock

  Males arrive as early as March; display at dusk · Abandoned fields and brushy openings next to damp woods

  Vermont Fish & Wildlife says woodcocks arrive as early as March, males first, and need two kinds of cover: moist young forest for feeding and nesting, and open “singing grounds” of old field with blueberry, goldenrod or dogwood. The Vermont Center for Ecostudies describes the display: starting a few minutes after sunset, a male calls a buzzy peent from the ground, then climbs in a spiral up to about 300 feet while his wings twitter, and falls back in silence. A single male may do as many as 24 sky dances in an evening, most about six. Fish & Wildlife reports yearly declines of about 1.5 to 2.5 percent in its two Vermont study populations since the 1970s.

• Red-winged blackbirds

  Late February into March, males first · Cattail marshes and wet fields

  VTDigger’s Audrey Clark called the red-winged blackbird one of the first songbirds to fly back. Males arrive ahead of females and stake out territory, and the Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas notes that one male can hold ground with up to 15 females in it.

• Eastern phoebes, killdeer, turkey vultures and tree swallows

  Phoebes in early March, killdeer in late March or early April, vultures and swallows from late February through early April · Ledges and bridges, farm fields, open sky, and open water

  Phoebes come back early and build on ledges close to people, and killdeer follow in late March or early April. The VTDigger piece lists turkey vultures and tree swallows as arriving between late February and early April. The Atlas found turkey vultures in 158 percent more survey blocks in its second survey than in its first.

• Ducks and geese on open water

  As the ice goes out, from March into April · Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge in Swanton and other Lake Champlain marshes

  At Missisquoi, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reports Lake Champlain’s biggest waterfowl gathering, mostly wood ducks, mallards and teal. Walking trails stay open dawn to dusk all year, but the Jeep Trail shuts from April to August for nesting and migrating birds, which makes March a good month to use it.

Which Vermont birds are nesting in March?

• Peregrine falcons and the cliff closures

  Closures began March 15 in 2025 and 2026 and ran to August 1; 2027 list not yet posted · Cliffs including Bolton Notch, Deer Leap, Hazen’s Notch, Fairlee Palisades, Mount Horrid, Red Rocks Park and Snake Mountain

  In 2026 Vermont Fish & Wildlife closed 14 cliff sites from March 15 through August 1 to protect nesting peregrines, and the U.S. Forest Service did the same on the Green Mountain National Forest at Rattlesnake Cliff in Salisbury and Mount Horrid–Great Cliff in Rochester in 2025. Expect a similar mid-March start in 2027, but check the department’s list, because sites are added or removed. The recovery is a Vermont success: the Peregrine Fund began reintroductions in 1975, young birds were released from nest boxes between 1982 and 1987, and the species came off the endangered list in 2005.

• Great horned owls

  Eggs can be laid while snow still falls · Open, patchy country; borrowed hawk and heron nests

  The Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas says females sometimes incubate eggs while snow is still falling. They use borrowed nests, broken tree stubs and even the underside of a railroad bridge. The species is listed as uncommon in the state, down 33 percent between the two atlas periods, probably as forests have matured and barred owls have increased.

• Northern saw-whet owls

  Courtship in March; breeding March to July · Coniferous and mixed woods

  The Vermont Center for Ecostudies says males sing a steady too-too-too call from sunset to sunrise starting as early as January, and courtship runs through March. Males weigh about 75 grams and females about 100, so expect to hear far more than you see.

• Canada jays and bald eagles

  Canada jays nest March to April; bald eagle eggs from early March to as late as early May · High-elevation spruce-fir forest; river and lake shores

  The Vermont Center for Ecostudies notes that Canada jays begin incubating two to five eggs in mountain conifers in March or April, long before most birds nest. Its field guide says eagle egg-laying runs from early March into early May, with about 35 days of incubation; the February guide follows eagles back to their nests.

What are bears and other Vermont mammals doing in March?

• Black bears wake up

  Mid-March in recent years; deep snow may hold some in until April · Everywhere except the Champlain Islands, with the most in the Green Mountain spine and the Northeast Kingdom

  Vermont Fish & Wildlife says bears now leave their dens in mid-March, about two weeks earlier than the old rule of thumb, and find little natural food. Cubs born in late January or early February weigh only 8 to 10 ounces at birth, about the size of a chipmunk, the department says. Wetland grasses and green leafy plants are the main spring food, but they are thin fare, so bears turn to birdfeeders, trash, chicken coops and beehives. The department recommends taking down feeders from mid-March to December, locking garbage in bear-resistant containers, and using electric fencing for chickens and bees. Feeding bears, even by accident, is illegal under 10 V.S.A. § 4827a.

• Snowshoe hares

  Breeding March to July · Spruce-fir and young forest

  The Vermont Center for Ecostudies reports snowshoe hares breeding from March, with males fighting for females, a gestation of 36 to 37 days and young born from May.

• Skunks, muskrats and foxes

  Skunks and muskrats breed in March; fox kits arrive from March to May · Field edges, ponds and marshes

  Striped skunks leave their burrows in March at the peak of their breeding season; the Vermont Center for Ecostudies reminds readers that a skunk can spray as far as 25 feet. Muskrats begin breeding in March and have two to nine young per litter. Red fox kits are born from March to May.

• Moose and winter ticks

  Female ticks start dropping off moose in March · Northeast Kingdom

  The Vermont Center for Ecostudies says engorged female winter ticks begin falling from moose in March, and you can see dark adult ticks on the snow. A moose can carry up to 75,000. Vermont Fish & Wildlife says heavy loads can kill calves, especially in the northeast corner of the state.

What wakes up in Vermont’s woods and wetlands in March?

• Skunk cabbage

  As early as February; usually March in most of the state · Wet woods and swamps

  The Vermont Center for Ecostudies calls skunk cabbage one of the earliest spring flowers and says it heats its flower to about 75 °F so that it melts through snow. The center’s earlier guide says it stays about 36 degrees warmer than the air. The smell, skunky and garlicky, draws flies and carrion beetles as pollinators. Photographing the visitors and posting them to iNaturalist’s Pollinator Interactions on Plants project is a useful early-season record.

• Coltsfoot, hepatica and silver maple

  As the snow melts, late March into April · Roadsides, sunny woodland edges and floodplains

  The center lists coltsfoot and sharp-lobed hepatica among the first wildflowers to bloom as snow melts. Silver maple makes the earliest maple flowers, small red blooms that open before the leaves.

• Butterflies that overwintered

  Warm, sunny days in late March · Woods edges and sunny trails

  Mourning cloaks, Milbert’s tortoiseshells and eastern commas spend winter tucked into crevices as adults and fly on the first warm days, seeking mates rather than nectar.

• Mining bees and painted turtles

  Late March; mining bees can fly with snow still on the ground · Sunny banks, sap-wet maples, ponds

  Mining bees of the genus Andrena are among the first bees out, the males appearing days before the females and coming to maple sap, and over a dozen bee species have been recorded in late March in recent years. Painted turtles begin basking on logs, since they must warm from about 43 °F to 63–73 °F to become active.

What is March weather like in Vermont, and what is mud season?

• A parade of storms

  Mid-March in particular · Statewide

  National Weather Service Burlington meteorologist Seth Kutikoff told VTDigger in 2023 that the middle of March tends to bring a run of stormy weather, with temperatures just cold enough for heavy snow. The records bear that out. News reports at the time called a March 7, 2011 storm Burlington’s biggest March snowfall on record and said that 9.5 inches on March 14, 2023 set a daily snowfall record.

• Mud season

  Typically the second half of March or early April, through late May · Dirt roads and trails statewide, especially at high elevation

  The Green Mountain Club explains that Vermont’s clay-rich, rocky soils drain poorly, and frozen ground keeps snowmelt near the surface. High-elevation trails are the most fragile, with thin soils and rare plants. The club works with the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation to post trail closures each week, and suggests dirt roads, rail trails and low-elevation hikes in the meantime.

When is Vermont’s last spring freeze?

How much daylight does Vermont gain in March?

What can you see in Vermont’s night sky in March 2027?

• Full Worm Moon

  Full at 6:44 a.m. EDT on Monday, March 22; look on the evening of Sunday, March 21 · Open eastern horizon

  Because the exact full moment comes at daybreak, the moon already looks full the night before. In Burlington it clears the horizon about 6:34 p.m. EDT on March 21, some half hour ahead of the 7:06 p.m. sunset. Worm is one of several folk names; Sap Moon and Crow Moon are others.

• Jupiter and Mars after dark

  The Moon visits Jupiter on March 18 and 19; Mars and Jupiter pair up around March 30 · High in the evening sky

  Look for Jupiter shining beside the waxing Moon on March 18 and 19; by our computation they stand less than a degree apart at their nearest on the 19th, with the Moon about 88 percent lit. By the same computation, Jupiter and Mars come within roughly four degrees of each other around March 30 and 31, close enough to pick out together without optics.

• Mercury and Venus at dawn

  Mercury’s widest swing from the Sun is March 17; best viewing March 8 to 25 · Low in the east-southeast before sunrise

  Published figures for the central states put Mercury rising roughly an hour ahead of the Sun in early March. Vermont lies farther north on a shallow spring ecliptic, so look for it lower and bring a flat horizon. Venus outshines everything near it and stands well above. By our computation a thin crescent moon sits close to Venus on March 4 and 5.

• Clock change and equinox

  Clocks change at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 14; equinox Saturday, March 20, at 4:25 p.m. EDT · Everywhere

  Federal law starts daylight saving time on the second Sunday of March, so March 14 is the date in 2027. The equinox arrives six days later.

What can Vermont families do outdoors in March 2027?

Safety notes for March in Vermont