Early spring can be an ambiguous time. For instance, last year in Ohio, high temperatures this month were in the 80s; this year high temperatures have been in the 40s. Winter-like or summer-like, apparently it all averages out!
If one didn’t know the date, it might be easy to mistake the season for late autumn.
However, there are certain things that one will notice this time of year. For instance, familiar birds are starting to sing once more.
Birds are pairing up again, and courtship displays can be seen.
A few early birds are already upon a nest!
Birds you’ve not seen in a while start showing up again as the weather turns warmer. Can you name the following 8 species that have returned early?
Plants are starting to peek out of the ground once more.
Early wildflower blooms have been spotted.
Trees are budding more heavily.
Creatures are more active.
Early spring is a dress rehearsal for the warmer weather ahead, and a promise of things to come. The wait won’t be long now!
Seasons Flow 
You’re a lot farther into spring than we are here in Michigan! If we’re lucky, we’ll lose the last of our snow this weekend. Great photos!
Thanks! It looks like Easter will be rainy and in the 50s today, and then April will start off by returning to highs in the 40s. At least the snow is gone 🙂
Spring is lagging here in Virginia as well. She’s such a tease…
It’s certainly different from last year!
Beautiful post as always! Happy Spring, Happy Easter to all, Ellen
Thank you, Ellen! Happy Easter!
You’ve discovered lots of early signs of spring.
It’s a good time of year, Pat- signs of better things to come!
Lovely as always. We were hand-feeding the chickadees in the park yesterday. With all the snow we (still) have, they were quite tame. Then the cardinals and squirrels came by to forage the dropped seed and the turkeys batted at the tied corn stalk. I did think that one of these years I’ll need to put down the bird seed and pick up the camera …
It would be great to see photos of those friendly Chickadees, Inger! I feed some here, and they get pretty close, but they’re not quite ready to eat out of my hand yet.
Yippee! Great post. Happy Easter! Margie
Happy Easter, Margie!
Lovely photos! We are having a delayed spring too, after a warmish start to the month. As for your ‘mystery birds’, here are our amateur offerings: Red-winged Blackbird, Black Vulture, Cattle Egret, (Eastern?) Meadowlark, (no idea), Wood Duck, (Towhee?? – looks like a warbler), Sand Martin.
Great guesses, Jo! I’ll post the names late next week 🙂
Hi. Nice photo of the Wood Duck. I like seeing the new greenery among last year’s leaves. Jane
The male Wood Duck is almost startling, he’s so colorful. Wonderful waterfowl!
Lovely; the same birds have come to nest again in my neck of the woods, but we still have snow cover…happily receding! So grateful for the seasons. Thanks for the wonderful preview. Beautiful photographs! 🙂
Thanks, hope your snow melts soon, Kitty!
It’s nice to see spring really happening somewhere. We’re getting there slowly but aren’t where you are yet. Great Photos!
Thanks, Gardener- the mountains in your neck of the woods take a bit longer to warm up!
Like you, we are in the midst of cool spring weather, to be followed up by wintry weather. But yesterday was perfect and a sign of things to come 🙂
It won’t be long now, Composer! 🙂
Love your spring photos. They are really fun and engaging.
Thanks, Charlie!
The world is magnificent when it’s waking up. You’re right, it that strange time of year the looks like Autumn. How curious it feels to know it’s Spring but it seems like Autumn. Your photos are beautiful. That duck is amazing. 🙂
The male Wood Duck is extremely colorful in his spring feathers! Thanks, E.C. 🙂
I was in the woods this weekend and noticed similar signs of almost-spring!
I wanted to just say spring, but it’s not quite all here yet!
My, you have lots of spring already going on!
It’s getting there, Montucky! I was really surprised to see the flowers growing in the Montana mountains on your site!
Our temperatures are running about ten degrees below normal here – but spring can’t be too far away… Your cardinal is such a handsome bright spot in the bare branches!
It’s been a chilly early spring here for sure, Barbara. Cardinals are one of my favorites- they love the thickets, but until the leaves come in I can get some photos of them.
The 8 birds in the ‘showing up again’ section are:
Red-Winged Blackbird (a male singing on territory already)
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture (not the best picture of one I admit)
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Wood Duck (male)
Eastern Phoebe (the earliest returning flycatcher in Ohio that shows up in March)
Tree Swallows (snapped on the wing, hard to see well I know!)
Love that stunning Cardinal, and all the rest as well! Great pictures!
Many thanks!
Slowly but surely, spring is easing in.
It surely is, Patti- I think the weather is speeding up now…