Out on the refuge the stillness of winter has given way to the celebratory noise of spring. Everything is awake or waking, putting an end to our long winter dormancy. The lengthening days now see the sun earlier and earlier. I’m up at 5 to the call of the cranes and listening to them on and off all day. As I went about my morning tour of the garden a different sound caused me to look up to waves of Canada geese flying in from the south announcing their arrival with their noisy honk. Then along came four of the flock of swans we saw the other day honking a completely different note than the geese. Just as I’m smiling at this early morning symphony of the feathered brass section a pair of loons added their complimentary tones. The loons don’t arrive like the flocks. They seem to come quietly in the night and are settled on the lakes before you know they are there. I can see by the sun glistening on the water that the ice has finally melted.
While all this is happening on the refuge beneath our bluff, up here the garden has its own symphony. The chickadees have been at it for weeks. Downey and Woody with the percussion section have been at it also. And today the robins are filling out the music with their cheerful notes. Finally they are back flitting through the birches, chasing each other around the orchard.
Alaska birders are traveling off to migratory bird festivals all around the state to catch glimpses of the returning flocks. Here are just a few.
www.kachemakbaybirders.com
www.stikinebirding.org
http://www.wrangell.com/visitors/attractions/outdoors/garnet/
http://www.alaskacenters.gov/bird-festivals.cfm
For us, mornings like this are particularly pleasing.
We have our own festival all to ourselves right out our back door.