You are browsing the archives of spring.

Though this question is probably only relevant to birders in the midwest and northeast of the United States I feel compelled, like last year, to ask it. Have you seen your first Eastern Phoebe of 2012? When? Was it earlier or later than usual for you? my first decently photographed Eastern Phoebe of 2012 at [...]

1. The votes are in, and Red-naped Sapsucker is the winner and my proud new nemesis, although Gray-crowned Rosy Finch also made a strong showing. Congrats to Red-naped Sapsucker, and thanks to all who voted and shared their own nemesis stories. He’d like to thank his mom, his agent, and of course the Birding Academy. [...]

Manhattan, April 2010 In the busiest and most developed borough of New York City, Manhattan, which is what most tourists think of when they think of New York City (if they are thinking at all), the signs of spring are sometimes subtle, but most are, like much of Manhattan, in your face.  How, for example, [...]

Ah, spring is here (at least on my side of the world.) Rather than wax with my usual eloquence on vernal splendors, I’d like to share a silly song that always comes to mind this time of year. My kids just loved the movie Lost in the Woods by Sisbro Studios. Laura and Robert Sams [...]

Whoo-hoo! It is now, on 20 March 2012, spring!  Take that, southern hemisphere! Here in New York it has felt like spring for, well, to be honest, most of the winter. Though lately, with temperatures clearing seventy degrees Fahrenheit and the sun beating down it has felt more like mid-May than the vernal equinox. Whatever, [...]

If I see either of two things I officially declare that spring has sprung. One of them, my first migratory Eastern Phoebe of the year, has not yet happened this year. (Though I did see an overwintering bird way back on the eighth of January.) Yesterday I did see the other of my two signs [...]

Late winter, or second winter, or whatever you want to call it, continues its slow march into March. A week ago, a classmate eagerly told me about his sighting of an American Robin near his home. Spring, surely? Of course, one Robin does not make a spring, and I told him about the hardy individuals [...]

Now that the Earth has rotated somewhat and the Northern Hemisphere types that tormented me through June to September with all their tales of sunny days and summer birds have been plunged into Snowy Owl-filled darkness, it is the time of year where I can talk about nice weather and birds breeding away like crazy. No more [...]

My first sighting of an Eastern Phoebe each year is, for me, when spring officially begins.  I finally got my first phoebe of the year yesterday, Saturday, 19 March, a mere eighteen days after the first phoebe of the season was reported in New York City.  I actually ended up seeing two examples of Sayornis [...]

What is true in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US holds true for Cyprus as well: Spring is prime-time for Passerines. They’re just so easy to hear and to see that now, with how they advertise themselves with their songs and vibrant plumages, they sometimes give the impression of being more numerous than in Autumn. [...]

In New York City temperatures have reached into the fifties on the Fahrenheit scale today and they are predicted to do the same again tomorrow.  Spring is, of course, more than just one warm spell but as of today we are getting a full hour and twenty-nine minutes more daylight then we did on the winter solstice [...]

As we roll towards Valentine’s Day, the U.S. as a whole is desperate for signs of spring. Montana is no excpetion. Just this week, Missoula was carpeted with more than 9 inches of snow in one 24-hour span, yet on the list-servs and in conversation the hot topics are the smallest hints of migration and [...]

As much as I appreciate the juncos at my feeding station, I’m ready for spring.  I was going over some of my bird lists from 2010 to turn in on eBird (I know, I’m a slacker about turning those in) I found my ears practically salivating for a red-winged blackbird trill.  Then I realized, this [...]

While most of 10,000 Birds’ writers and readers are enduring the northern winter coming early, down here in Wellington we are enjoying one of the nicest springs I’ve known. All around the city trees and plants are flowering and birds are pairing off.  Last week the weather was warm, sunny and calm (the later the [...]

A recent visit to Jamaica Bay didn’t offer up the hoped-for and previously-reported White-faced Ibis, a bird that I have still not seen in New York State, but there was a host of other birds to enjoy, to say nothing of the simple pleasure of sunlight in a gorgeous environment.  What follows are some of [...]

Of course the saying is “April showers bring May flowers” but the volume of rain we had back at the beginning of the month is really paying off here in Queens, NY, with amazing flowers everywhere.  Maybe I’m just paying more attention (taking more time to smell the flowers so to speak) but it seems [...]

It is the twenty-sixth of March.  By the calendar, spring has been here for nearly a week.  Red-winged Blackbird hordes have gone through, and the female red-wings are even thick on the ground.  Forsythia is flowering and daffodils are blooming all over the place.  I’ve watched my first Mourning Cloak butterfly for the year flutter [...]

With sun all weekend in New York City and temperatures north of fifty degrees Fahrenheit we can all be forgiven for thinking that spring is here early, and here to stay.  Not only was it warm and sunny but the enormous snowbanks from the recent blizzards have dwindled to virtually nothing, saturating the ground and [...]

The May 2009 installment of Birdwatch Radio is now available with a tasty, thematic Salute to Spring Migration.  Steve Moor, the brains and voice of Birdwatch Radio (no offense, Rich!) gathered twelve terrific guest commentaries. Well, at least most of them are terrific. Here’s the line-up: John Fitzpatrick Douglas Carlson Peter Gordon Julie Zickefoose Dr. [...]

Though it is a myth, of course, that American Robins are not around in winter, I still enjoyed my first robins of spring yesterday in Flushing Meadows Park and Kissena Park in Queens.  They were around in numbers, feeding on invertebrates found in both grassy and disturbed areas.  Their tut-tut-tuts when disturbed were music to [...]