…spring sounds are starting to pop up!

This morning I heard the spring mating song of the White-throated Sparrow, “Oh sweet, Canada, Canada, Canada.” In those liquid, silvery tones I felt my heart quicken just a bit knowing spring really was on the way. Three days ago, an American Goldfinch slipped into spring song too, and I stopped to listen, anticipating the coming season. I wait for these early spring sounds every year. As soon as I hear them, I know spring will return. Unfortunately, I only heard the White-throated Sparrow’s song once, a stark reminder that at 7 degrees F this morning, winter is still very much here.

The White-throated Sparrow’s song is beautiful and distinctive. It’s almost a whistle you can copy (but it never sounds as good!). As the days start to lengthen and the temperatures warm, they will sing more and more, trying to attract mates. Unfortunately, once spring is in full swing, they will leave our area for their breeding grounds up north and in central Canada, but until then, we get to listen to their beautiful song. Our white-throats are usually gone by mid to late May. It always seems a bit hollow those first few days when their wonderful song is missing from the yard.

Rick, hanging out of the basement window in the cold, 

captured this male White-throated Sparrow. 

What we won’t do for our birds…

The American Goldfinch also starts an early spring song as mating season kicks off, a harbinger of the warmer temps and milder weather in store, but even though they are starting to sing now, goldfinches are late nesters. They don’t start building their nests until the thistle seeds start to ripen, and in our area, that’s usually late June or early July. American Goldfinches use the thistle down to help build their nests, and they feed their young weed seeds and thistle seeds instead of insects like the earlier nesting songbirds. Timing their nesting season with the ripening of thistle seeds ensures their survival.

Larry found this guy in his backyard posing 

for him after the recent ice storm.

And as another reminder that winter is definitely still here, my girlfriend, Teri, sent me a photo of one of our local robins sitting patiently (waiting for spring, I think) in her crabapple tree.



…and then shortly before I was getting ready to post this entry, my cousin in Louisville sent me this shot of her robins in her crabapple tree. Apparently everyone is waiting for spring, no matter the locale, but I’m not sure patiently is the word for it!