We’ve got this… let’s all take a step back and go for a walk. Everyone take a deep breath. Okay, now that we’re all calm we can take time to listen to the birds, they don’t know anything about covid-19.
Over the last week the birds have really started to sing after the silence of winter. I wake up to the sound of the male Robin singing his beautiful morning song while perched on the post of our back yard fence.
The male Red-winged Blackbirds (or as a good customer of mine calls them, the Red-Wingers) are flashing their dazzling red shoulder patches as they belt out their Conk-la-ree call. I had a little boy once ask me if I had heard the Hercules song… that’s what he calls the Red-winged’s song. I haven’t seen any females yet, they should be here in a couple of weeks.
Song Sparrows are perched high in the trees adding their beautiful song to the choir. The male Goldfinches are starting to look like little patch-work quilts as they moult into their vibrant lemon yellow feathers. Cardinals are singing all day as they begin to mark their territories and seek out their mates. Chickadees are singing their ‘fee-bay’ mating song. I’ve had quite a few customers asking which bird is singing that lovely song.
Last, but certainly not least, I was happy to hear the American Woodcock in the field behind the house at dusk. Cornell’s All About Birds describes it the best:
“The male woodcock’s evening display flights are one of the magical natural sights of springtime in the East. He gives buzzy peent calls from a display area on the ground, then flies upward in a wide spiral. As he gets higher, his wings start to twitter. At a height of 200–350 feet the twittering becomes intermittent, and the bird starts to descend. He zigzags down, chirping as he goes, then lands silently (near a female, if she is present). Once on the ground, he resumes peenting and the display starts over again.”
In the next few weeks we’ll have the Orioles, Hummingbirds, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks to look forward to. On that note, turn off the news, go outside for a walk, take your binoculars along, take your camera and enjoy the sights and sounds of spring.
If you have any questions please call us, we’re here to help you welcome the birds of spring.
Stay healthy and safe:)
Author – Jane Paradis
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