Harbingers of Spring

[Chaz]

2 weeks ago I started noticing large numbers of blackbirds moving north, and I've seen quite a few Kestrals moving also. While I don't take much stock in robins being the harbinger, I have notice them hunting where there is bare ground. Blue birds abound. But the real harbinger of spring was yesterday when early in the morning I heard a red-winged blackbird singing his heart out.
As a young man growing up in Richboro PA we had quite a few of these wonderful birds as neighbors, and I was always delighted to see and hear them in early March. It always meant that spring was near, even if it snowed 20 inches on my birthday, it never stayed around a long time. With a weekend forecast for warm days and only a couple of chores to do I’m finally going fishing this year. Every year for many years I would go out on January 1st to fish, but I haven't done that in a few years, next January 1st, look for me to be out fishing.

 

[jayL]

let me be the first to say..


w0000000000000000000000000000t!


I fished through the freak warmth of dec. and jan.... but I haven't been out since then. I fully plan on going and fishing over some midges this weekend.

 

[tomgamber]

Every spring a pair of Red-tailed Hawks occupies a nest out my back window. We watch as chicks appear and the mom goes out and brings back rabbits and tears them to bits for them. By the 4th the chicks are full size birds and take off. Well, the small tornado that came thru here a few months ago, took out the nest. Its visible to the naked eye , normally, but I got out the binocs today and confirmed it. What prompted this?. Well..they are out there right now just circling. Four of them. I hope they come back to within eyeball view of the back deck as usual. When I cook on the grill I liket o get the telescope out and I can get right into the nest. The creeks are muddies, the hawks are back, I washed my car and neighbor is out scraping last year's filth off his grill...so yes, Chaz, spring has sprung! Yeah!!!

 

[Padraic]

My cat did his best to jump through my bedroom window about a week ago. He seems to forget about glass every winter.

 

[sandfly]

bluebirds all winter here, have some redwings movin in, plus a red belly all year..

 

[Coughlin]

Alas, in Philly it's the robins we settle for :-D
Coughlin

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Chaz,

You are from Richboro? That explains why I argue with you so much, I never liked anybody from Council Rock! :-D

Living in the woods were I do I don't see the harbingers of Spring like I used to do when I lived along the Susquehanna in New York. By this time of the year up there I'd have redwing blackbirds in my yard and this weekend often signaled the first weekend of the annual snow goose migration up the Susky.

That was the real sign that Spring was coming, those things would fly non-stop during the day straight up along the river early in March. Thousands and thousands would pass in straight and precise flights. They usually showed up around the second weekend in March every year.

By the following weekend the daffodils would be struggling to push their way out of the permafrost just in time to get a load of snow dumped on them. Those poor flowers would come up before the end of March every year and look beautiful in the early morning light only to get killed by frost and wind before the 1st of April. The poor things!

Regards,
Tim Murphy

 

[ryanh]

I don't know if Piliated wood peckers migrate, but in the last week I started seeing our two again I have not seen them all winter. also the turkies are starting to flock up and last year's jakes look a little more noble this year.

I don't officially welcome spring till i hear the peepers.

 

[Chaz]

Tim,
I went to CR when it was a real school, where did you go? Don't tell me WT.

 

[Chaz]

Ryan,
Last year or the year before we had peepers the first week of March, but then got another cold spell and they disappeared until almost April. But the peepers are a good indicator. did you ever try to find one? They're tough. Pileated Woodpeckers do not migrate in SE PA and probably don't elsewhere in PA, but they sure change their habits during the winter like most birds. Blue birds are pretty much around all the time, but they really change their habits in late February, changing over to insects when they are avaiable.

 

[Festus]

In these parts, it's a sure sign of spring when my 300 pound spandex wearing coonskining neighbor lady starts hanging her undies out on the clothesline instead of draping them over the woodpile next to the woodstove. :-o

She ain't done that yet, so I better get my trip to Spring Creek in on Tuesday before it starts snowing again next week. :-?

 

[TimMurphy]

Dear Chaz,

I graduated from Neshaminy. I don't like Tennent either, but at least they aren't Bensalem. :-D

Regards,
Tim Murphy