The migratory birds are coming well north by now.
We saw three swans on the Tomhannock Reservoir on our way to Vermont this weekend. It looked as though one was last year's signet - it was still dusty in some spots behind its wings. I roused a flock of mergansers on the small pond the road crosses on the way to Cambridge the day before. They were already fully matched up, mated pairs swimming side by side. And the sounds of the birds in the back yard is different. There are higher pitched, smaller voices that we haven't heard over the winter. Even the crows are wandering further - they are not waking us up each morning now before the alarm clock has rung.
The ubiquitous house sparrows are building their nests, or already have. I saw one going into a crack in the corner of a neighbor's porch roof molding yesterday. I didn't see any materials in its beak, but the sound was of much company inside. I wonder if the people who rent that apartment can stand in the front of their flat and hear the sound of the new chicks when they are born, under their feet.
It's nice to be warm again, to be overheated padding around the house in thick wool socks and fuzzy fleece robe over nearly ans fuzzy fleece pajamas.
