One of our favorite birds that returns each spring is the Eastern Phoebe. The Phoebe arrives early (often with snow still on the ground) and stay around well into the fall. Its lovable and ubiquitous tail flip, raspy repetitive call “phoebe phoebe phoebe phoebe phoebe phoebe” and sudden acrobatic flights to grab an insect makes the Eastern Phoebe a welcome warm weather friend.

Last year, Ingrid and I saw our first Phoebe on March 23. In 2017, we didn’t see our first one until yesterday (I’ve seen a half dozen since then).

Obviously the Phoebe’s migration was slowed by the cold weather that we’ve been complaining about on these pages.

Another warm weather friend, the Song Sparrow joining the bird chorus.