I often think of April as early spring since there are a lot of seasonal changes happening but there’s still some overlap with the slumber of late winter.
Of course by late April, the balance certainly is tipping with migrant birds coming through regularly and wildflowers popping up all over. But, since I’m writing this in the first week of April, I thought it’d be nice to stop to think about those early signs of spring that we see.
Here are a few that come to mind for me:
– Violets popping up in the lawn, ready for the earliest of pollinators
– Frogs and toads on a rainy night, followed by tadpoles
– The dawn chorus, so much louder than in previous months, such that it wakes me before any alarm
– Dogwoods and Redbuds starting to bloom
– The sweet smell of viburnum through the air
– Black rat snakes warming up in the sun
– Spring azures, Commas, Question Marks and other first of season butterflies flying with purpose
– Cleaning out nestboxes so they’re ready for Chickadees, Bluebirds, House Wrens and others
– Chipmunks back to the ground-level seed feeder, filling up their cheeks
– Hummingbird feeders, cleaned and filled, ready for the first visitors
– Opening all the windows and letting the fresh air blow through
What are some early spring signs of the season for you?