For this region, it’s a time when the spring frenzy of courting, breeding, laying and birthing primarily has shifted to raising young.

The march of local turtles, both snapping and painted, to the driveway has slowed.

Most songbirds have already hatched their first broods; some like the robins and mallard ducks might very well be setting up for the next round.

At our home at Six Mile Lake, the eastern phoebes have fledged the first hatchlings and are shifting from one nest over a light fixture to another. Usually the pairs each year have initially chosen the one on my mom’s quilting shop, but this year changed it up and started over the door to the pole barn. Now they’re getting busy over at the quilt shop, so we’ve stopped leaving that light on for when I arrive home late at night. There’s enough other light sources and it’s best to avoid sparking a fire, which happened in the past.

Young fawns will sprint around in play that helps build speed and stamina. (Betsy Bloom/Daily News photo)

Fawns are beginning to follow their mothers after spending their first few weeks bedded down in hiding. Twins are the rule with deer, but does will leave siblings in different spots to avoid losing both if a predator manages to discover one.

These families now finally get to come together — and the fawns appear eager to swap out that former sedentary existence, curled up in the shadows, for exuberant energy.

The pair that showed up in our backyard Thursday toured the open space at a crowhopping gallop, like a whirling cyclone with their mother the calm eye of the storm.

This urge for young fawns to race around has a purpose: It builds up muscles and stamina so fawns can outrace predators such as black bear and coyotes.

From this point into next spring, these fawns are hardwired to follow the doe wherever she goes, eat what she eats and learn what’s needed to grow. Though they’ll begin sampling vegetation based on what they see their mother feeding on, most fawns aren’t weaned until about three to four months old and then gradually, according to several online sources.

A final note on young animals in the region: As someone who travels M-69 almost nightly, I’d like to ask that drivers take care after dark on the section between the eastern end of Groveland Mine Road and the western side of Metropolitan Road in Felch Township.

In late April, Jennifer Slagle of Slagle’s Family Farm on Metropolitan Road posted on their Facebook page a video of young fox kits playing; she said it was two dens with at least 10 on their property. They were especially intriguing because several appeared to be “cross” foxes, a variation that has more dark-tipped fur on back and face than the regular red variety.

Those kits appear to now be out exploring the world, at least after dark. As in past years, I’ve slowed and watched for eyeshine in the high grass along the ditches in that area. That caution has proven warranted more nights than not.

This is not surprising. Foxes have excellent night vision, with vertical pupils and a special membrane behind their retina called the, both traits they share with cats. That membrane is designed to reflect light coming into the eye back to the retina, then back out again, which enhances the image for the fox. It’s also why animals with this feature have those glowing eyes that provide a signal of their presence to drivers like me trying to avoid hitting anything.

The foxes now seem to be growing more brazen and roaming further down M-69. One even skittered across Six Mile Lake Road.

This is risky behavior — and it cost one of them earlier in the week, the second straight summer a young fox has turned up as roadkill in that stretch of M-69.

So if the foxes aren’t going to show better sense, hopefully motorists will watch the roadsides carefully if traveling through the area.