Normally, birdsong is not part of January in upstate New York.
Sometime, during the transition between fall and winter, bird song disappears. Then, around the second week of February you notice, one day, that you are hearing bird song again.
It's one of the first signs of spring. Spring is still (weather wise) a good two to three months away at the point of the first bird song but the bird song gives you hope that one day, the snow will melt, the warm breezes will blow, the first flowers will bloom and the sleeping buds on the trees will unfurl into green leaves.
It isn't uncommon to have a short "January thaw" here, with weather mild enough to melt the snow, but the birds don't sing for that. Perhaps they know that it is a false spring and that winter will return - no sense straining their vocal cords.
Which was why it was so odd to hear bird song last Friday.
Was it mild? No, it was in the teens. There was nearly a foot of snow on the ground.
But there were several birds singing. I am not a birder, and I don't know what birds they were, but there they were.
I couldn't believe it.
I wonder if the birds are trying to tell me something. Are we going to have an early spring?
Or are they just playing with a blogger who hates winter?
Monday, January 7, 2013
3 comments:
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Must have been confused with all the hoopla (lots of heat, no fire) about the fiscal cliff!
ReplyDeleteMaybe they are a little confused or they have found a nice warm corner with some food nearby. Birds are a pretty happy lot, I think, as long as they have their territory. Of course, I live in South Carolina where the winter birds come to get warm. I've noticed that some stay all winter here instead of disappearing...like robins.
ReplyDeleteAn early spring? quite possibly, as I read yesterday that 2012 was the hottest year for over a century in the United States. Mind you, it's much the same story here in Europe.
ReplyDeleteTweet tweet and have a nice day!