I am back in Missouri for a week and, despite the date, the landscape shows little evidence of spring. The long, cold winter has delayed leafing and flowering and the lawns are only half-hearted in their greenery.
As is often the case, the most significant change to my "birding-eyes" is the larger number and variety of songbirds in more eastern ecosystems, fueled as they are by humid air, a higher amount of precipitation, greater diversity of vegetation and a much larger number of insects. Over the next six weeks or so, that variety of songbirds will be especially large, as winter species gradually depart, summer species arrive and migrants pass through the region, all joining the permanent avian residents.
Sitting out on our back deck on this mild, cloudy morning, I saw or heard a dozen or more species within a half hour and will surely see far more when I visit my favorite birding haunts. While I am partial to drier landscapes, the mild, humid air of the Midwest is especially inviting in early spring, delayed though it may be.
As is often the case, the most significant change to my "birding-eyes" is the larger number and variety of songbirds in more eastern ecosystems, fueled as they are by humid air, a higher amount of precipitation, greater diversity of vegetation and a much larger number of insects. Over the next six weeks or so, that variety of songbirds will be especially large, as winter species gradually depart, summer species arrive and migrants pass through the region, all joining the permanent avian residents.
Sitting out on our back deck on this mild, cloudy morning, I saw or heard a dozen or more species within a half hour and will surely see far more when I visit my favorite birding haunts. While I am partial to drier landscapes, the mild, humid air of the Midwest is especially inviting in early spring, delayed though it may be.
