As April 1st rolled in, so did greater signs of the change that is the spring. Here in upstate NY the temperatures have reached the mid 60s, which is a far cry from yesterday when they were in the 30s and snow was around in light showers. There is also a sense of something to come in the air. Birds appear to have their hormones geared up, and an early rise to the day with a step outside will find many of the common resident species in full song: American Robin, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow. It is truly a magical time of year that has its own gradients that in and of themselves are magical in their own right.

This spring will come as a bit of a treat to many I feel too. This past winter we were blessed to have the region filled with sightings of rare gulls, and many winter finches that irrupted from the Boreal Zone of Canada. It proved to be a good year for that. However, it has been a cold and wet winter with February and March being the 2nd and 3rd wettest months respective to themselves over the past 150 years (in Albany, NY). We are ready for a change…and it is coming…in fact, it is happening NOW! Soon the air will be filled with songs of passerines that wintered in far off places, birds like Vireos, Warblers, Tanagers, Buntings, and Orioles. And soon after that the woods will fall silent as they make their way south again, this time with new legions of their own. When that time comes we will probably look forward to the cold and wintery days of late March. The days that hint of change to come yet again.

~Chad