Spring in Canada

Our first real sign of spring came this morning in the form of a red-winged blackbird atop the power pole in our yard. There is still plenty of snow on the ground here in Nova Scotia, but it's edges are receding. The Northumberland Strait is still packed with drift ice, and that sometimes hangs around long enough to delay the start of the lobster fishing season in May.

Out on the shores of Lake Erie, Gerard Pas reported seeing his first red-winged blackbird yesterday. In other blogs, Barend has reported the spring weather in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Further west in Montreal, Barry Welford reports that the St. Lawrence Seaway is open, and wonders if the record length of season it had last year is due to global warming. Out in mid-western Canada, Jeff comments on the dramatic metamorphosis of the changing season.

There are a couple of other creatures I like to watch as a further indicator of the changing season. First is the northern spring peeper. There used to be a website which recorded when it was first heard in various locations, but I am unable to find this today, so if you know this site, do please let me know. The second is the ruby throated hummingbird with one reported sighting yesterday in Virginia.


Tags: spring,
canada.