The Happy Camper: Has Spring Sprung? Here are Some Signs in Nature to Find Out
We’re all familiar with the common urban signs of spring: countless new potholes on the side roads, the smell of dog poop smeared across the backyard and the local news reporting more ice anglers being rescued from floating chunks of ice. But I prefer to head out in the woods and keep an eye out for “true” signs of spring. Here are the go-to signs that I look for to find out if winter is over and finally done with.
Snow Fleas Emerge
When the days become warm and the old corn snow begins to melt along the forest floor, you’ll start seeing snow fleas sprinkled across the ground, looking like moving pepper grinds. Its nickname is “springtail” for its ability to catapult itself from place to place, over ten to 100 times its own size. It’s not a flea, though. It’s an arthropod that works year-round to break down the forest litter. They survive the cold temperatures of winter by having an anti-freeze like chemical protein to keep them from going frigid. You just happen to see them more often on the melting snow in early spring because they rise to the surface during warmer days to warm up a bit and take advantage of the weather.
First Birds Back
The robin is thought to be the first bird to migrate back to the northern forests, calling out it’s flute-like sound and pecking away at berries that have fermented on bushes throughout the winter months—which gets them a wee bit tipsy by doing so. But the robin is not the first bird back.
The great horned owl arrives way before any other migrant bird. By mid-February/early March the owl arrives to steal an old crow or raven nest to lay its eggs. Before the end of March, the young have hatched and are begging for food.
Next are flocks of migrating crows returning, as well as blue jays that chose not to overwinter in the north. The black-capped chickadee calls out its territorial call that sounds like the “Ha-ha” laugh of the cartoon character Nelson Muntz from the Simpsons. Downy, hairy and pileated woodpeckers hammer their bills into rotted tree trunks to attract a mate, and cardinals send off their space-invader game call.
But I’ve always used the song of the red-winged blackbird to signify the true arrival of spring. The male arrives first and marks nesting habitat for the females that arrive two to three weeks later. It flashes its red and orange shoulder patches and calls out it’s echoing “conk-a-ree” that rolls at the end like a referee’s whistle. It’s been labelled the Casanova of the cattails; the more marshland it grabs for the nesting females the more females this polygamous bird gets to mate with.
Skunks and Bears Wander Out of Their Dens to Pee and Poop
Before the tree buds bloom, you’ll smell the scent of skunk pee and the pig-like odour of bears who poop for the first time in many months. They crawl out of their winter dens to relieve themselves, finally. Both are not true hibernators like the groundhog or frog. They go into a deep sleep to slow down their metabolism and save energy; and while they do, the skunk holds in its pee, and the bear plugs its butt.
Deciduous Trees Come Back to Life…And Then the Black Flies Arrive
Evergreen trees (conifers) stay alive all winter. Its resin is thick and gooey and won’t freeze when the temperature dramatically drops. But deciduous (leaf-bearing) trees have to store its sap down in the root cellar or it will freeze, expand and crack the trunk and branches. It contains more water than sugar. When the days get warmer (past 3 C) and the nights stay cooler, trees like maple and birch are the first to start pumping their sap back up the trunk. You’ll even notice the tree branches begin to stand straight upward, the crowns show signs of first budding; a colour of yellowish brown to a lime green. I always found that the first morning you notice the lime green in the crowns of red maple and white birch, you’ve got 12 to 24 hours before the black flies emerge, and a day or two after that when they start biting into your flesh.
Frog Calls Keeping You Awake at Night
You know it’s spring when the spring peepers peep, the green frogs croak and the American toad sounds like a thumb being brushed over a hair comb. But these species are late in the game. The wood frog song is actually the one I use to judge the coming of spring. They are a terrestrial herbivore and make an appearance in late March when the ponds are still frozen over. They have a distinct duck-like quack call, even sounding like a raccoon chatting away at times.
Gnats and Pussy Willows Are Early Risers…
Beyond the red-winged black bird “conk-a-ree” song and the red maple branches reaching for the sky, I finally announce true spring has sprung when the pussy willows spread out their soft and fuzzy grey buds, and those tiny black gnat bugs buzz around your head. Black gnats look like black flies but don’t bite and suck out your blood. Those pesky insects hatch later.
You Can Smell the Ground Again
The final stage for me to jump for joy and celebrate the coming of spring is to take a moment and lie on the forest floor and take in a breath of that “thaw smell;” that earthy damp aroma and the scent of winter loosening up its grip. Finally! What a great smell it is.
