Ushering in season firsts
The Veendam: 2013's first cruise ship in our port As an avid birder, I welcome the sight of returning warblers, hummingbirds, terns and plovers. At this time of year, they charm me more than usual. Soon they’ll flock to our woods and shores in greater numbers, but for now I count every migratory songbird or endangered shorebird I spot. Gardens have harbingers of warmer days too. Well before anything else grows outdoors, those crocuses, daffodils and hyacinths paint our yards with colour. Last year, I blogged about spring peepers , amphibians that are shorter than your pinkie finger. These frogs overcompensate for their diminutive size with a trill chorus to mark the season. I know to take out my spring jackets when I hear the male peepers. Our longer stretches of sunshine and spring weather also mean retro cars escape from winter storage, cruise ships return to our ports, crab and lobster boats set out to sea, and farmers return to their fields.