Still awaiting spring 2011!

Well, it has been a rather cool week.  Our pond, which had been free of ice, had a new layer on it this morning, although the warmth of the sun melted it by the afternoon.  I came across a great statement today:

Climate is what is predicted.  Weather is what you get.

On Monday of this week, I saw daffodils blooming (despite the weather) on College Hill in Easton.  Then I noticed them on Heckman Road and other places in Bethlehem.  In Point Philip (farther north but still south of the Kittatinny Ridge), the yellow daffodil buds were evident, but not yet open.  And north of the mountain in Kunkletown, our daffodil buds are forming but there is no color in them yet.

The cherry trees in Bethlehem have a few flowers open, but it is as if they have been suspended in time with the return of cold and snowy weather.

The flocks of robins are more evident now and in the mornings, there are more birds singing.  A few weeks ago, the pileated woodpeckers were paired up and quite noisy, but the are now relatively quiet.  I wonder if they have created their nests yet.  Over the past few days, I have seen downy woodpeckers paired up as well.  There are phoebes around, but I haven't heard their characteristic song yet.  I wonder if the birds are also becoming impatient waiting for spring weather to arrive.

While bluebirds are here throughout the winter, I noticed that in the past few days, the males are looking intensely blue -- breeding plummage perhaps. 

Eastern Bluebird (Photo by H. David Husic)

The first reported Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the season was reported in central New Jersey this week so be looking for these in the very near future.  Check out their progression northwards at either

http://hummingbirds.net/map.html or 

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/humm_ruby_spring2011.html.  You can go backwards in time by week and see the rate of migration.

One different sign of spring:  the 2011 trout fishing season opened in the Lehigh Valley today.