Early Arrivals

Signs of spring are all around. Jonquils are popping up.

Today I saw three migratory birds here for the first time this spring. (You mark those "EA" for earliest arrivals.) This morning I saw an American woodcock and heard an eastern towhee. This afternoon we saw a great blue heron on the Jack's Fork.

I also saw a mockingbird today. It was the first I had seen here since last summer. They winter here, but they must be rare here in winter.

Killdeers arrived at Mountain View on February 20. That same day we saw several large flocks of snow geese flying north. On February 22nd the redwing blackbirds arrived.

On Tuesday, March 9th, the killdeers were doing their courtship display in the street in front of the house. Now that's a sure sign of spring.

Tuesday evening we heard spring peepers singing at a pond. They always sing before Easter. The scientific name is Pseudacris crucifer. The species name, crucifer, was given because the annual timing of its singing coincides with the time of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

One wintering bird species, the junco, has been missing from our backyard feeder for about a week. We had 5 or 6 juncos around all winter, along with 35-40 goldfinches, 8-10 mourning doves, 3 song sparrows, and 3-4 house finches. Although they didn't consume our bird seed, we also had bluebirds, robins, and starlings in our yard all winter.


This photos of crocuses was also taken today. I'm ready for the redbuds to show some color.

You could say I'm in "spring training".