Winter Days

This winter in northern Minnesota was kind of a mixed bag; snowfall has been somewhat below average, and much of January and February was downright cold. A winter that gave us very few winter finches and Bohemian Waxwings was redeemed by an irruption of northern owls, notably the Great Gray and Boreal. American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos spent the entire winter with us, which is becoming a trend over the last couple of years. As I write this in late March after just having wrapped up a Winter Weather Advisory, thoughts turn to warmer spring days and a multitude of migratory songbirds that will arrive over the course of April and May.