Warm March temperatures confuse creatures

Nature Notes for March 30, 2012

Last week’s unseasonably warm temperatures, as high as 25ºC in the daytime, with above freezing temperatures at night, confused all creatures.

Frogs were singing – spring peepers, chorus frogs, wood frogs, and an American toad in my neighbourhood. Several early butterflies were flying – Mourning Cloak and Eastern Comma. Even the first mosquitoes were reported, along with a bat that might have been feeding on the mosquitoes.

Vegetation is also ahead of schedule. Spring bulbs are flowering in many gardens. Some maples and willows are already in flower, something not usually seen until at least the first week of May.

On a couple of mornings last week, warm enough to sleep with the windows open, the dawn chorus was deafening. It was made up mostly of American Robin song, but there were also Northern Cardinals, Song Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees and European Starlings in the mix.

Several of the early spring migrants were seen weeks earlier than in a “normal” year. On March 18, a Fox Sparrow turned up in my garden. This bird was at least two weeks early and didn’t stay for long.

The first few Tree Swallows have been reported in the area. These birds are taking a big risk, since they rely entirely on flying insects for food. The early arriving males may get the best nesting territories, but if the weather turns cold, they could pay with their lives for that early arrival date. Cold temperatures suppress activity among the insects that these birds rely on for food. I was sent a newspaper clipping this week by a friend who winters in Sarasota, Florida. It showed a large flock of Tree Swallows, a species that winters there, taking off for points north. Perhaps the few I saw today were among them.

In last week’s warm days, a pair of Song Sparrows were collecting nesting material from my front garden. Let’s hope that they delay nesting until there is a better chance of them finding enough insect prey to feed their young.

The first few Field Sparrows have arrived back at the Alderville BlackOak Savanna. These birds are about two weeks early.

The first Eastern Phoebes have been reported. These are a flycatcher, reliant on insect prey. Sometimes, if the weather turns on them, they will move into a farmyard with livestock in search of flies to keep themselves alive.

Northern Flickers seem to be everywhere this week. Flickers are a migrant woodpecker and their call is both loud and distinctive.

American Crow numbers have increased. They have been seen carrying nest material. This is also the season that homeowners need to guard their curbside garbage from the crows. They have learned that those green plastic bags often contain goodies.

Waterfowl numbers are thinning out, although most of the “winter” duck species can still be seen in small numbers. On March 27, one Tundra Swan turned up on the Port Hope waterfront in the company of several Mute Swans. This bird is en route to nesting grounds in the Arctic, perhaps as far north and west as the Mackenzie delta.

The exception to the decrease in waterfowl numbers is the Canada Geese. At least 2000 can be found grazing on a pasture field west of Welcome. Let’s hope that they leave some food for the cows that will pasture there later this spring.

Last week’s warm temperatures have birders expecting birds that should not be here for at least another month. The early arrivals are taking a risk to acquire good breeding sites. If they survive, the risk has been worth taking. Many of the later arriving migrants winter in the tropics, so they don’t know how warm it is here. The warblers and vireos and orioles will no doubt start arriving during the first week of May, right on schedule.