Despite it now being mid-April, winter has been protracted this year and spring isn't as advanced as you would expect. The weather is warming and flowers are beginning to bloom, however, but most trees are holding tight to their winter hibernation, at least for the moment.Still, I saw the first sign of spring in my backyard several days ago with the reappearance of the Cassin's finches - at least two pair, with the brightly colored males and boldly marked females both visiting the feeders and snacking on hulled sunflower seed. Theoretically, Cassin's finches are found in Utah year-round, but that has never been the case in my yard. They will visit for a few weeks to take advantage of the food and shelter I provide, but as the trees begin to embrace the warming season they will disappear to better nesting areas and more natural food sources.
Despite the season's delay, migrants are starting to appear - I've noticed a few yellow-rumped warblers flitting about the trees nearby, and the numbers of birds at my feeders are beginning to rise. Hopefully this pause in the season will be over soon, and I'll have more than the one rosy sign of spring my yard has thus far seen.
1 comment:
We've seen sandhill cranes and mountain bluebirds passing through Moab already! Also the turkey vultures and herons are back!
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