This year, Monday, 21 December, is the winter solstice, often known as the shortest day of the year, at least for those in the northern hemisphere.  The winter solstice in 2009 will feature nine hours and sixteen minutes of daylight in New York City, with the sun rising at 7:16 AM and setting at 4:32 PM.  What is interesting to this blogger is that according to the United States Naval Observatory website, 22 December, the day after the solstice, will apparently be one minute shorter than the solstice in New York City, with the sun rising at 7:17 AM and setting at 4:32 PM (the other locations I checked have identical-length days on the 21st and 22nd).  The discrepancy most likely occurs because the actual solstice is an instant in time, the moment when the earth’s axial tilt is furthest from the sun, and though that instant might be on 21 December, making that date the solstice, it is most likely very late in the day, making it possible for the winter solstice to NOT be the shortest day in the year.  At least, that is as much as I can figure out; please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Anyway, as I did two years ago, I wanted to offer encouragement to those who think that winter, which officially starts on the winter solstice, will last forever, and that spring will never come.  In mere days we will be getting more and more light with each and every revolution of the earth and it is only a matter of time before the very first spring migrants start their journey north.  So, don’t despair, and enjoy these shots that should remind you that the warmth of spring is on the way!

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.