February usually feels cold and dark and depressing to me, definitely the middle of Winter. So it is a delight every time there is a hint in this month of the Spring to come. First there were a couple reports of American White Pelicans. (Of course someone spoiled it slightly by saying they'd been at Barr all winter.) Then Great Horned Owls have been seen on nests, and a Bald Eagle already has an egg! And the early Bluebirds have been reported here and there. And there have been some house finches with nesting materials in their beaks. But to me, the first sign of Spring is when the woodpeckers start drumming, which they did last week. As well as lots of hollow trees around, there are numerous pipes on the house that resonate quite well. And a couple days ago there were 2 male Hairy Woodpeckers, next to each other on a big tree, vying for supremacy by stretching their necks skyward as far as they could. I'd never seen this before and it was quite exciting. They looked for all the world like American Bitterns in the reeds! And the Chickadees have started using their "Hey Sweetie" call instead of just their Chick-a-dee-dee-dee or their scolding of the local Screech Owl. So does anyone else have favorite Avian signs of Spring?
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