2 February 2014 - Spring starts early

The first day of spring is March 20, a month and a half away. I've been thinking about spring lately, as I am sure many of the other winter weary have been as well. Although probably for different reasons.

Last week I saw magpies building a nest. Yesterday, 30 miles away I ran into another pair working on a nest. For the last several weeks, the birds have been busy in the early morning vibrating the air with their songs. 

The cottonwood trees have swollen buds and the leaf sheaths are greening up. Birds are already showing some breeding plumage. All of this got me thinking that spring starts a lot earlier than most people think.  Something worth celebrating. 

But the little changes are worth celebrating, too. Right now it is still light at six p.m. That swells my heart as much as anything. 

February 1st was ushered in with three inches of snow-- not much, just enough to make me shovel out the driveway. February 2nd was bright, sunny and cold. I put on my wind pants and went out to see what was happening in the bird world.

My first stop was Willow Pond. Here I found spring. The ducks on the pond were already in pairs. The male red-winged blackbirds were already flashing their shoulder epaulets at each other and singing loudly in the tops of bare trees or raking through areas of ground where the snow had melted .

I found a mallard with a beautiful white female -- variant plumage. I think he realized how special she was--he was aggressively protective of her, keeping all other males away. She was worth it. 

Here is a normal pair of mallards--the female is brown. Nicely patterned, but nothing special

Now check out my white female. You have to agree she is pretty spectacular. 

I spent some time watching the gulls steal food from the coots. The coots would dive and come up with mouthfuls of greens. The seagulls would dive in and grab the food right out of their beaks. Bullies. This shot was taken right before he lost his lunch. 

Over on an icy patch a gull was following another coot around. Every time she pecked at the ice, the gull would rush over and try to take whatever she had. 




 

I moved on to my next destination, a wide open field on the west side of the city. I was rewarded by three Horned Larks. 

This is what Horned Lark territory looks like. 





Not much was going on here--hundreds of Canada geese, a couple ravens, a kestrel and another hundred gulls. 

Moved on to the GSL frontage road. First bird was another kestrel.

 This was followed by a Rough-legged hawk.  A slightly out of focus hawk. The wind was howling--rocking me, my camera and the bird.

The big surprise of the day? First think about this: sunny, 28 degrees, winds varying from light to blustery. Given the conditions you can imagine my surprise at seeing three sailboats on the lake. 

The lake never freezes, so yes, you can sail all winter, but it must have been cold out there. There were buoys set up. They seemed to be practicing making turns around them. Getting a head start on the racing season? 

That is snow on the edge of the lake, not sand. 

My original plan had been to be out for an hour, but six hours later I headed for home. Detoured for one last stop at the Lee Kay ponds. I didn't find the Harris sparrow that has been reported to be there, but I did see a Bald Eagle and a fox.   Not a bad way to end a sunny day. 

 It was good to get out, since the forecast is calling for snow tomorrow.  Whether or not that actually happens, I'm just happy to see the signs that the world is working towards spring. It is a reminder to me that the world is changing every day, but it is such a slow change that if you don't look for it, you miss it.  Such subtle stuff-- you just have to love it.