It was always the first Robin to harbinger Spring. No more, Robins are here in February and some winters they never leave. Something has changed the traditional signs of the changing seasons.
The QCA’s first sign of winter are the return of the Bald Eagles. The wintering population has become a destination for bird watching tourists. A drive through Arsenal Island from Illinois to Iowa will sometimes provide a view of 20 to 25 Eagles roosting in the trees at dusk. As they begin to move up the Mississippi, following the receding ice and the opening of the rivers in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, new migratory visitors stop over before following the Eagles.
When the Pelicans arrive in late March we can anticipate one last spring snow and by the time they have moved on, spring is ours. It snowed last Thursday and on the way to work on Friday I drove through Sunset Park and was greeted by the Pelicans. ~~Bob
