The bulbs are starting to pop their little heads up and you are even beginning to see little buds on the trees.
But it is the birds we are looking for.
One of my most favorite nature memories is hearing the distinctive honk of the Canada Geese. Most of the time you can hear them before you see them and I would gaze up at the sky, my hand shadowing my face and look for the telltale V-formation of the flock of geese. Last week, I couldn't help but smile when I noticed my boys, eyes skyward, straining their necks in search of the geese.
The birds are the real harbingers of Spring for us!
Here on the Virginia Coast we are situated directly in one of the four main flyaways, or migrating corridors. We see the geese when they fly South as well as when the begin to head North again. We began seeing the telltale V formations just last week.
The boys and I watched Fly Away Home during one of our snow days a few weeks back. If you need a flick to support bird week this is a good one. It is such a great resource for lots of information on geese and how they learn to navigate their route from their parents. But beware mamas, I don't remember it being so sentimental when I saw it the first time. Have your tissues at the ready!
We spotted the first robin last week. We've seen a few house sparrows, one of our favorites. And the first red winged black (and his noisy friends) bird just this morning!
The welcome mat has been laid out for any other birds that might be heading our way. Seed is in the feeder. Nesting materials gathered and at the ready.
We haven't spotted our beloved Ospreys yet. But one good thing about keeping a nature journal is that by looking at our post from last year, it looks like we have another few weeks before they arrive.
But I have to tell you, the bird we just can't stop watching is this little guy...
It is a yellow bellied sapsucker. We like him for just his name alone. Ask your kids to say "yellow bellied sap sucker" 5 times fast and watch them giggle. He is a member of the woodpecker family although he makes holes in the tree not for the insects, but to lick up the sap that runs after he does his work.
Just look at the holes he has made in the trunk of our American Holly Tree!
What birds to you see as harbingers of Spring?
