The First Day of Spring, Birds Coming Home and…Snow!

Spring officially swept in at 4:02 AM this morning. Spring has always been my favourite season – a time when my energy level and optimism soar. But spring can admittedly be a bit fickle. I awoke this morning to a beautiful House Finch song accompanying the falling of the soft wet snow – and yet even more birds moving through and coming home. Feeding flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos, Pine Siskins and Redpolls have inundated my feeder. And a Spotted Towhee made a brief visit before moving on.

Male House Finch taking a feeding break from singing

A female Northern Flicker on the first day of spring

feeding on the ground

female Redpoll on a snowy morning

A flock of Pine Siskins certainly can clean up the sunflower seeds quite quickly!

Steller’s Jay: early morning visitor

Black-capped Chickadee: store that seed or eat it right now?

Dark-eyed Junco that is part of a large feeding flock

Chestnut-backed Chickadee checking out my feeder

The resident Black-capped Chickadees, Chestnut-backed Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches have continued foraging at the feeder and a female Northern Flicker has started accompanying the male flicker to the feeder. The secretive little Brown Creeper sometimes visits the fringes of the feeder area and a flock of American Robins has arrived and started cleaning up the insects from the surrounding grassy areas. And of course, that noisy family of Steller’s Jays keeps checking on my feeder to stock up on sunflower seeds.

Yes, the snow is falling and spring may indeed be fickle – but it is definitely here at last!

all photos and writing copyright Joanne Siderius, 2013.