A horned grebe is shown. (Scot Stewart photo)
“Nothing like the petals of a spring beauty or a marsh marigold to take the sting out of a late snow.” Anonymous
It has been a roller coaster of a spring and it seems like that is becoming winter’s in the Upper Peninsula. Luckily there has been enough warmth and sunshine to provide encouragement to the spring ephemerals like spring beauties and trailing arbutus, and the yellow marsh marigolds are just begging to open their flower buds in the wetlands in Marquette.
It is also fortunate many songbirds have taken a slow path back north this spring with many still holding off still to the south. Leaf-out is well underway in places like northern Illinois where temperatures have reached 80oF this past week, but in the U.P., not so much. Recent snow though did push the official snowfall totals in some places to pass the record annual low snowfall total, and no temperatures in the near future here look to pass 70 degrees F.
A blue-winged teal is shown. (Scot Stewart photo)
“Skeins of Canada geese honking across the blue sky, scores of juncos foraging through open areas, marsh marigolds near bursting in wetlands, and a surprise of a new coat of snow it’s spring in the Upper Peninsula!” Anonymous
April is the start of one of the best times of year in the U.P. There are no mosquitos or black flies out, and just a few ticks on the prowl on the select warm days. New migrant birds slip into the area periodically, slowed recently by the occasional freezing temperatures and snowfalls. Last weekend a number of moderately sized flocks, up to 100 or so, cruised over Marquette on their way to Canada.
A yellow throated warbler is shown. (Scot Stewart photo)
“Birding always bring expectations especially in spring. Marveling with what actually occurs, enjoying the place, and the day are what ultimately make the expectations inconsequential.” Anonymous
Spring migration brings new hopes and surprises each day to birders. It is an especially notable time as most birds are molting into or have already gained their fresh breeding plumage and look spectacular. They are often vocal, especially those slated to summer in the area. Males of some species do sing as they move on northward, still trying to find a female, looking for a possible open summer range or other reasons, but this behavior is not well understood. Migration in spring is different from fall’s. In autumn, adults with worn plumage and somewhat worn out from raising young, head south with young, inexperienced young in tow. These young may be seeing humans for only the first or second time when they reach the sout
An eastern phoebe is pictured. (Scot Stewart photo)
“The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next.” Ursula K. Le Guin
When dealing with weather in the Upper Peninsula in March and April, life ls filled with uncertainty. Even after weeks of mild, dry weather, a sudden snowstorm is always a possibility. Spring moves like a car driven by a new driver just learning how to use a clutch. Never too smooth, full of surprises, it jerks and yanks at maple sap, flowers trying hard to time their opening to the appearance of the pollinators and at the birds hoping to find open waters, active insects and bare ground to find enough food to charge up again to claim a territory or continue on farther north.
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