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On Cape Cod, Spring '08 is Here and the Birds are Singing!

How do we know? Well, let's see...
  • We've got a sparrow on top of the bird house with an emerging black bib on his chest. As the season progresses, that bib will turn a rich black indicating that it's mating time. Ah, spring is here and love is in the air.

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    (If you remember, last year about this time we had a sparrow who spent weeks on top of the bird house, all puffed up and dancing his strange little "hopping dance". As far as we could tell, all his efforts were in vain. Wonder if this little guy will fare better? And for that matter, is it the same individual? Hmmm...)

  • The crocuses are up!

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    These are always pleasant things to see, and they are a surefire indicator that summer isn't that far away. The downside of this is that while the crocuses are beautiful on the front lawn, they're about the only thing that will grow there. To say that the yard is "grass challenged" is an understatement. Do you think the neighbors would notice a concrete lawn painted green? Hey, we could even paint pictures of crocuses on the concrete... Naw, that probably wouldn't go over too well with the locals or the wife. But it would make for low maintenance...

  • And finally we have absolute confirmation that spring has sprung! When you see a crow scarfing down some pizza in preparation for March Madness college basketball, spring is a lock.

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Yup, yup, yup... Nothing says seasonal rebirth like catching a little hoop on TV, and knowing that over your shoulder - in the darkness - a murder of crows is on the deck rail chowing pizza pies and "cawing on" UCLA. All kidding aside, we've noticed that the crows have become much more vocal lately. Is that a function of the season? Perhaps they have simply learned that making a ruckus leads to more food? Do they do that when we're not home?

In any event, 'tis spring again on Cape Cod, and the supersaturation of tourists can't be far off... Sigh...

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

This just in! It looks like birds tend to sing longer in the spring due to a hormonal change sparked by longer days. You can read about the phenomenon here.

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