Southern California's winters aren't very deep, so it's sometimes hard to catch the signs that it is ending. I've been feeling very Spring-like, lately, as the chorus of resident birdsong increased, but I felt like today we were turning the corner when I saw some Northern Rough-winged Swallows hawking insects over the lake at La Mirada Park. These lightning-quick brown birds were the first spring arrivals I've seen this season - migrating north out of Central America on their way to breed here in the United States or Canada.
It's exciting to feel the pulse of the earth quicken. New signs of life were bursting all around the park this morning. I saw a Cassin's Kingbird shredding tissue paper for its nest in a nearby palm's crown. Not far away, a Common Yellowthroat broke out into full-throated song. Even the Townsend's Warblers in the park, winter visitors, warbled softly as they foraged in the bright green of a trees' renewing leaves.
It's still early, and winter hasn't gone completely, as the chorus of chipping Yellow-rumped Warblers testify, but I can already hardly wait until a flash of bright yellow will announce the arrival of our gaudier neo-tropical migrants. Orioles, Vireos and Warblers, oh my!
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