Let's All Sing Like the January Birdies Sing

Upstate NY, on the edge of the snowbelt.  Long winters.  Lots of snow.  Ice.  Clouds.  Gloom.  That's our trademark winter.

But not this year.

And not only that but during the winter here, birds don't sing.  Maybe they don't have too much to sing about.  Maybe they are too busy trying to stay warm.

But last week, right after sunrise, I heard the screeches of a peregrine falcon echoing through downtown Binghamton. (A pair lives on top of our 10 story Security Mutual building.)  And this morning - I heard birdsong near the Broome County courthouse.

Tonight, about 1/2 hour before sunset, I was exercise walking on the West side of Binghamton and saw and heard a bunch of sparrows chirping away in some vines.

Normally, we don't hear birdsong here until perhaps the second week of February.  It doesn't seem to be related to temperature - we've had "heat" waves in January (a brief break between the normal snows of December and the normal snows of February and March) and the birds don't sing while the snow is melting.  Although today, we did tie our record high, 54 degrees. (12 degrees Celsius).

What does this mean?

Many people are afraid there is going to be a huge "payback".  Personally I think it is going to come on February 29.

We'll see.  Cheep cheep!

Are birds where you live singing?  Have you even had a winter?

And with this burst of birdsong, I finish the Ultimate Blog Challenge.