Signs of Spring

While I'm out chasing sinkholes, disappearing streams and the ephemeral waterfall, spring is arriving fast.  I've always felt that the morning chorus of birdsong is the real mark of spring, and it's here - at least a dozen species echoing through the trees as I walked the dog this morning.  It's a challenge to sort out the songs in my mind, but one year I did listen to bird tapes, so I can recognize a lot of them.

This Great  Blue Heron was standing at the edge of a farm pond when I drove by yesterday.  I've been inspired by some of the other bloggers I read (you know who you are), who feature great bird pictures, so I'm going to try and do that more this year.

I'm using my wife's camera with a longer digital zoom for the bird pictures, and it seems to work well.  Here the heron flew almost as soon as I stopped the car, and I only had time to put the camera on 'sports' setting, and snap away, but this picture turned out ok.

The doves are nesting under our eave as always; they started this nest at least two weeks ago, when the ground was still totally snow-covered.  I hear them cooing as I sit inside the house reading the other blogs I follow and enjoying my morning coffee..

This morning I heard my first Song Sparrow, so I stopped and looked around til I spotted it high in a tree.  I've also heard the Cardinal and Flickers recentlly.  I usually hear birds before I see them, and I always carry binoculars on my walks at this time of year.

We headed out for Saturday breakfast (destination a fabric shop), driving across the causeway at Lake Eugenia on the way.  The Osprey are back!  Two were sitting on the nest, but one had left by the time I got the picture.

And the chipmunks have been visiting the deck, cleaning up under the winter birdfeeders.  This guy's cheeks are stuffed to bursting!

With all these 'critter' photos, I'm linking to: