Birds Return with the Light

BirdNote^®

Birds Return with the Light

Written by Todd Peterson

This is BirdNote!
[Song of the Tree Swallow]

The naturalist John Hay asks, “Is it not possible to follow the light through the medium of a bird? Without them, the days would go by without definition.”

Sometimes it does feel as if we’ll never emerge from a featureless murk of dark days. But winter’s weak light is finally beginning to strengthen, and some birds, long absent, have begun their journey north, coming back to us. 

Here’s what to look and listen for, as we approach the time when day and night are equal.

Look for the return of Tree Swallows, with their metallic blue-green backs, white throats, and notched tails. Ornithologist David Allen Sibley describes their song as “a repeated series of clear, sweet whistled phrases.” [Song of the Tree Swallow]

This month also brings phoebes – Eastern Phoebes east of the Rockies [Eastern Phoebe song], and Say's Phoebes in the West [Say's Phoebe song].

Bluebirds are arriving, too, both Eastern and Western. And they're all looking for cavities in which to nest. [Eastern Bluebird song]

So be of good cheer, the birds – and Spring – are coming back. [Eastern Bluebird song]

Support comes from Sasquatch Books, announcing The Breath of a Whale, stories of nature's remarkable creatures of the deep, from the author of The Hidden Lives of Owls.

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Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Song of the Tree Swallow #40786 recorded by G.F. Budney. Song of the Eastern Phoebe #61890 recorded by W.W.H. Gunn. Song of the Say’s Phoebe #120202 recorded by G.A. Keller. Song of the Eastern Bluebird #85201 recorded by W.L. Hershberger
BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and produced by John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson

© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org     March 2017/2019     Narrator: Mary McCann

ID#  030606returnspring-02b