Finding signs of spring in the Boston area

Boston Globe

09-03-2025

First stop is the Stone Zoo. A flock of Caribbean Flamingos are
whooping up a storm, flapping their wings, shaking their heads and honking like Jimmy Buffet was alive and serving free Margaritas.
Turns out, this is all about sex.
'Well, for flamingos, March is actually their love month,' says Peter Costello, assistant curator at the zoo.
'March is actually their love month,' says Peter Costello, assistant curator at the Stone Zoo.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
'You'll see the displays they're doing here. Actually, this is when they pick their partner. See the head going back and forth? It's called flagging. They have a whole bunch of displays that they do,' including standing extra tall, like they are kids trying to pass a height requirement at an amusement park ride.
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All to impress the ladies.
'They're like, 'Oh, hey, look at me. Don't I look so different from the one standing next to me? 'They just march around all day.'
Males tend to be bigger, but telling the sexes apart is difficult.
'We blood sex all of ours, so all the males have green bands, all the females have yellow bands,' he says.
Caribbean Flamingos at the Stone Zoo get their pigmentation from eating shrimp.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
But for all their yapping, dancing and prancing, they are mostly monogamous.
Visitors can observe them up close in their pool area with running water heated to 50-55 degrees.
'They're not freezing to death here, believe me,' says Costello. " If it's going to get cold, we just bring them inside. I think a lot of people like it because they're big, it's open, you're close to them. There's no heavy glass or structure separating you from the birds. They're not really an aggressive bird, even when they're nesting.'
A flock of Caribbean Flamingos at the Stone Zoo.
They need a running start to fly.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
They eat flamingo chow, a shrimp-based grub that gives them their vibrant color.
Katrine Lindeen of Winchester and her two kids licking SpongeBob SquarePants ice cream sticks is thrilled. Temperatures are pushing 50 degrees and everybody is having fun.
'Isn't this wonderful,' she says amidst the honking.'It shows life emerging and reminds you of the beauty of nature and the beauty of the natural world. This definitely cheers me up.'
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A flight from Logan banks over the waters of Hull during sunrise. As of last Sunday the sun won't rise til after 7AM.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
Sunrises and sunsets around the city are crystal clear this time of year. Bostonians can get out of work and still have daylight to sail. A few venture out in sailboats in the 37 degree Boston Harbor waters and watch the sunset dip behind the skyline. Tanker ships crawl slowly away from the sunset leaving behind the Zakim Bridge for long journeys across inky black oceans.
This lengthy cold winter is almost history.
The first crocuses have already pushed their way past the thawed earth and the decaying brown leaves at the New England Botanic Gardens in Boylston.
The first Crocuses have already pushed their way past the thawed earth and past the decaying brown leaves at the trails at the New England Botanic Gardens.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
Inside, the 'Pixels +Petals, An Orchid Exhibition' (though March 23) features 2000 orchid plants, including 100 different varieties amidst brightly colored blocks.
'We draw people of all ages,' says Liz Nye, public relations director. 'Orchids are one of those surprising plants that once you start learning about them, no matter your age or your experience with plants, you can really go down a rabbit hole because they have some incredible adaptations.'
More than once, people have gotten engaged here.
'Pixels + Petals, An Orchid Exhibition' (through March 23) features 2000 orchid plants, including 100 varieties amidst brightly colored blocks at the New England Botanic Gardens.
Ron Todd of Framingham and Nancy Perry, of Irvine, CA, enjoy the exhibit.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
On Friday and Saturday nights they even have 'Orchids After Dark' parties with beverages, lights bites and music (through March 19).
'That's a way for folks to view the exhibition in a whole new light,' says Marissa Gallant, director of education. 'Orchids just generally have so many amazing superpowers. There are so many unique species that have just these really intricate adaptations and have co-evolved with their pollinators or other species in their environments so that they can thrive and be happy.'
Dendrobium Burana Pink Orchid in the mix of a 100 different varieties amidst brightly colored blocks at the New England Botanic Gardens.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
Anne O'Sullivan, an actor from New York City, says she has come here in part because 'it's a welcome distraction from the convulsions of our society right now that are happening.'
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Better to talk about sex.
She has just learned from her visit that the Bee Orchid is a 'master of disguise.' It has a scent and lip that mimics a female bee to attract male pollinators. 'Male bees, drawn in by the illusion, unwittingly pollinate the flower, helping it complete its reproductive mission,' reads the text display.
Oncostele Hilo Firecracker 'Lucky Strike' at the New England Botanic Gardens.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
'They give no reward except their beauty,' says O'Sullivan, smiling.
Jayne Todd of Framingham is in a celebratory mood touring the exhibit. Spring has sprung, at least in her home garden.
'My bulbs are starting to come up,' she says proudly.
'I'm happy,'
Sailboats catch the light at sunset from East Boston.
Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff
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