Always spring is the sum of its parts, and I name a few parts of Early Spring here. There are thousands more.
By this point in this year's Early Spring, the first red-winged blackbirds have come to the wetlands.
The morning symphony of cardinals, titmice, blue birds, nuthatches, mourning doves and song sparrows has already begun. Owls hatch and woodcocks spin in their courtship spirals. Goldfinches begin to get their golden summer plumage.
Geese have paired up, and this week the robin chorus, the most passionate mating chant of the season, begins at first light.
The white snowdrops and yellow aconites are in bloom. Pussy willows crack wide open. Daffodil and blue scilla time begins. Silver maples bloom and sap flow slows. The rare snow trillium blossoms in the bottomlands.
By the time spring equinox occurs on March 20, mosquitoes bite, flies hatch, and then the first cabbage white butterflies come to visit the cabbages. Mourning cloak butterflies appear in gardens.
Skunk cabbage sends out its first leaves.
And then right at the end of Early Spring, around the end of March, the great Middle Spring wildflower bloom unfolds, filling the woodlands and wetlands with color and hope.
This is Bill Felker with Poor Will’s Almanack. I’ll be back again next week with notes for the fourth week of early spring. In the meantime, if you get out of bed at first light, go listen for the romantic robin chorus.
