Spring, Not Spring? Make Up Your Mind!

I know that weather is definitely hard to follow in Southern Ontario, the snow is very much back and forth of showing up and going away but this year has been so weird. Yesterday (05-Mar-2020) was very warm (+6°C) and the sun was out, the birds were calling and I had that migration tingle and the banding season along with the return of Warblers was making me damn near gitty. So to my surprise into work this morning was the blast of large snowflakes plowing into my windshield and I just thought to myself, what happened here??

Let me paint the true picture of yesterday to me: 

I could smell the moisture in the air, and feel the sun on my face. It had been a while since I could bird with absolutely no hat or gloves on and it excited me! The calls of Canada Geese and Red-winged Blackbirds calling from all edges of the pond behind my work. I stop to take a deep breath and feel the freshness in the air. This is the iconic early spring day for a birder and I feel like a lot of birders (myself included) would start counting the days until the breeding birds like Blue-winged Warbler and Eastern Wood-Pewee (in the east) return to our daily lists or sightings for the non-listers out there. 

Today, that is a very different feeling. I walk out of my car and feel the slush squish around my boots, this is a feeling I was hoping to never feel ever again, yet here I am. A heavy coat weighs me down and a toque covering my ears cutting the calls of birds near by. I feel the excitement leave my soul, and fall into disappointment. This is what late February and March has been for Southern Ontario so unfortunately we may not be done with the snow just yet! 

This is Hamilton area mind you, the Haldimand area I usually bird (Ruthven National Historic Site, Selkirk Provincial Park, etc.) were definitely not half as bad, and it looks like we are going to get more rain than snow at home, but tomorrow will be fantastic! It looks like it's going to be another early spring typical day so one can hope! 

Red-winged Blackbird calling - Hamilton ON