Signs of "Spring"

Ultimately, I think the "signs of spring" thing is rather comical. There is no single sign. Sorry, folks. Really. I don't have a single natural observation that says "Yup, it is now officially spring!" Not a bird. Not a flower. Nothing.

For me, it is a series of things. I look for them when I am out and about...

After tooting around a bit at Oakwoods Metropark yesterday, this handsome Garter Snake was found rummaging in the leaf litter. When the sun finally came out, it was quite warm. The cool thing about photographing cold-blooded critters on early warm days in spring is that they don't move so fast. I was able to get rather close. In fact, I actually had trouble being too close with my 400mm lens! I should have backed off a bit. I don't advise lying down on the trail in white clothes to get shots like this. While I was not that brainless, I did get a wet bum on my jeans.

Another fun sign simply looking for breeding behavior in birds. Sure, you have some oddities like the Great Horned Owl who are sitting on eggs in January. But, it is still nice to find the nests and see adults watching over nests full of fuzzballs. The pic at the left is certainly one of those cases. The bird is a parent. The nest was a short 75 yards away (or so). The nest currently has two youngsters in it. No, I am not going to tell you where it is. Lets just say two things. 1) I didn't find it. 2) The location is crazy. I can't believe they're there....

The picture at the left had to be one of the coolest moments of the day. Sure, it is a lousy shot - too much debris in the way, bad composition, and a whole peck of other problems. But, look at some things. First, the Rock Pigeon did not move so fast, did it? The Cooper's Hawk nailed it. How do I know it is a Rock Pigeon? Big honking red feet. Nobody else has 'em. (At first I thought it might be something else, but when I looked at the photo later, I realized the feet were just too red...)

Did you see that thing on the hawk's left leg? Yup, it is a banded bird. At some point, this bird was nabbed by a researcher. Somewhere, somebody has info on this bird. Too bad we can't read the numbers.

Third, this pic was taken at Lake Erie Metropark in a location where Cooper's Hawks have nested in the past. At no point did it seem to care about us. Off in the distance, a second Coop was calling. Plus, in recent days, I have seen Cooper's Hawks flying over the park with big, dramatic, slow wingbeats. It's a territory thing. I wonder if we stumbled into what we call "a date" yesterday...

Snakes. Parents. Soon-to-be parents.

Ah, Spring. Oh, I mean "Spring"......