March: Life Returns

Do you hear it? Life is returning to your yard.

A cardinal, always first at the feeder, tries to wake you with its loud, “cheer…cheer…cheer”; and the chipmunk, emerging from its long winter nap, repeatedly exclaims a loud “chip...chip...chip” as a greeting to the spring. Above, newly returned tree swallows twitter as they surf the sky, and bluebirds sing their happy chortle as they inspect the new nest box in your backyard.

What a show migration is with its ever-changing cast of characters passing through your yard: warblers, vireos, thrushes and tanagers are all out to impress and dazzle you. Migration also brings suspense: when will my hummingbirds return, will the orioles find my feeders, and why hasn’t the Indigo Bunting returned to the millet feeder it liked so much last year? 

Migration turns to nesting, with its own set of questions. Will the bluebirds like the new nest box we installed for them last fall? Are the robins going to reuse the nesting shelf under the eaves? Where are the chickadees nesting this year?

Nesting turns to youngsters. What a reason for celebration as parents first appear at your feeders with their nosy and noisy fledglings. And how amazing to watch the adults, busy in your backyard habitat, foraging for pollinating insects to feed their impatient offspring.

Yes, life returns in March...nature’s gift to enjoy and nurture.