How can you tell warmer weather is arriving? The raccoons are back.
I was laying in bed last night doing my nightly crossword puzzle (I had to cheat again *sigh*) when I heard a thud. I didn't investigate to see what the cats were up to since I didn't hear any caterwauling to go with the noise. This morning I found the tray on the front deck had been knocked askew and the seed spilled. There was also a small deposit of shit (more formally known as "scat") left on one side of the deck. Coons have naked feet and don't much like the cold of the snow but it's mating time and I guess all that activity makes them hungry, too.
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The overnight low was just 38.8 degrees here at the Aerie. It probably got colder down in the valley since cold air tends to sink when there's little or no wind to keep it mixed. And right now there is only enough surface wind to keep the windmills spinning but not enough to move a twig on the trees. And the winds are kinda weird. At the surface they continue to blow out of the southern direction but up above, the clouds are moving very slowly out of the northern quarter.
Rain is supposed to arrive late today or tonight and last through Saturday. That, along with the warm temperatures should remove the last of the snow except where it has been piled up during shoveling/plowing/blowing.
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At the photo club on Tuesday someone mentioned they thought they had heard phoebes calling. These insect eating birds will appear as soon as the bugs do and it's easy to see why they might have been here already. The warm sun has caused the cluster flies to come out of hiding. Not only are they batting against the inside of the glass (along with the lady bugs) where they provide plenty of entertainment for the kitties, but they are all over the outside of the house when the sun is shinning.
Yesterday, I heard the tentative song of a single robin when I stepped out on the deck at noon to watch skein after skein of geese high over head flying north. As soon as more of the fields are exposed, I expect to see flocks of robins searching for bugs and worms. And when the robins show up, the woodcocks will not be far behind so I'll have to start listening carefully for their "peent" at twilight and the whistling of their wings as they do their mating flights.
[UPDATE: Going down to get the mail at 9 AM I saw another skein of geese heading north. Passing fields previously thinned by the wind and now bare as well as fields where the dairy farmers have spread manure causing more rapid snow melting, I saw several Robins in among the European Starlings and even a few Red-winged Blackbirds. Coming back I spied what I believe was an Eastern Bluebird sitting on a power line. Ah! Spring!]
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Terry will be leaving Sumter, SC today heading north. She's not supposed to be attempting the entire trip in one go and should be stopping somewhere in Virginia for the night.
2 comments:
I am delighted by the returning birds. Heard the same today as yesterday with more red winged black birds tuning up.
I'm guessing your geese aren't headed this way ... we have 4 degrees and it's still snowing. Hardly the summer destination they'd want ... or anyone else, for that matter.
It's always interesting to read your posts, when it's still winter here - so much wildlife, so much activity. The only birds I've seen for months are the ravens, which never go away, and a few eagles. The magpies will return as soon as the snow starts to melt, though. Then we get to listen to their raucous chorus all summer.
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