I already mentioned in the Physical thread that I am aware of my spring upswing starting. So are others. This is a little earlier than usual, not even quite in spring. We've had sunny days and I can smell the coming of spring in the air. It has been warmer than usual some days, though it has gotten chilly others. Yesterday we had one of those odd days with a few flurries falling yet the sun was shining. We've had basically no snow this winter. A little actually in late Fall, and none since. It is still possible to have a storm as late as late April. In fact, those historically, tend to be the biggest snows in NJ. Yesterday I saw a cherry tree with blossoms starting. Unbelievable! Last weekend the grackles showed up. I love the grackles, but in the past they didn't arrive until April. Grackle song is my favorite. It thrills me. They are also a most wonderfully playful bird. When they first arrive, I sing out "The grackles are back! The grackles are back!" We might see a couple, initially, but then whole flocks show up. They hang out in flocks. Then their songs are amplified in a grackle chorus akin to the one we hear from summer insects.

Throughout the winter, the red-bellied woodpecker shown in my avatar has been at the top of the pecking order at our bird feeder. With the grackles coming, that will stop. Grackles are known to work together like an army of fierce warriors.

When spring winds down, the grackles will be gone. Then our bird feeder is replaced with the one for hummingbirds. Sometimes sooner, since grackles are a hungry bunch. Sometimes a fully loaded feeder empties in literally a few days. The hummingbirds' arrival makes the grackle departure not so very sad.