Subtle Signs of Spring
By Dave Anderson

Subtle Signs of Spring

Air date: March 26, 2010

From the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, I’m Dave Anderson with Something Wild… 

 Now that March Town Meetings are over, venerable “Signs of Spring” are a traditional “cracker barrel” topic in rural, small towns.

My favorite signs of spring are subtle and those peculiar to my valley and the particular patches of scruffy woods surrounding my farm. Signs of spring should be subjective and personal, the fitful seasonal events you’d mention in a letter to a friend forced to move to someplace with less-discernable seasons.

We experience a charming “Mud Season” when tire-sucking ruts develop as back dirt roads thaw. Neon orange “Frost Heave” signs along the state highways transition to “MUD- Pass At Your Own Risk” signs at the outskirts of our village.

The first Redwinged-Blackbirds in the frozen marsh, first forlorn Robins surprised by an overnight snowfall and first nasal “peeent” of a male Woodcock – are iconic and reliable signs of spring. These sightings are nearly as predictable as leprechauns, shamrocks and green beer at Saint Patrick’s Day!

Less celebrated arrivals sing less melodic songs. Rude Starlings in the village begin wolf whistling and shrill squeaking like a rusty hinge. Mourning doves begin to mourn the last shrinking patches of snow.

 My favorite early subtle song of spring is the high-pitched song of the elusive Brown Creeper.

The first tentative Creeper song is teasingly reminiscent of the high, thin sibilant songs of tropical warblers who won’t arrive en masse to feast on blackflys for another month. The Brown Creeper song is the “pitch pipe” notes which precede the spring orchestral symphony soon to come!

Something Wild is a joint production of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, New Hampshire Audubon, and NHPR. For Something Wild, I’m Dave Anderson.