phenology

I awoke early this morning to something I had not heard for months; the sound of raindrops on the roof. It stayed well above freezing last night, so this rain will help to wash away what's left of the snow and ice. Sand Creek is running high from all of the recent snowmelt, although it's not flooding as of yet. Although the pond is still definitely ice covered, water is flowing out the outflow culvert. When the pond froze last fall, it was after a heavy rainfall and the water level was very high.

Goldfinches, purple finches, juncos and evening grosbeaks were making a lot of noise this morning, but the song I enjoyed most was that of a robin perched high in a treetop. Although I had seen robins over a week ago, this was the first robin song I heard.

Yesterday it seemed bluebirds were everywhere, which is unusual for this place; they generally prefer more open areas. I guess if you count marsh and alder swamp as open area, we do have a lot of that. On my to-do list this year (as if it isn't long enough already) I want to plan and put up bluebird nest boxes, near the garden and also across the creek where I saw bluebirds two days ago. The creek would also be a good spot for a wood duck box or two.