Finally spring!!!

The title to this post might seem strange to you as the calendar start of spring is long past: however the past few days have been wonderfully warm, the snow is melting fast and the ice is going out of the river.  Yesterday morning began with the sighting of two little migrant sparrow species at our feeder area!  How colourful and welcome they were!:  A Fox Sparrow and a White throated sparrow:

We also had two other sparrow species in our feeder area yesterday:  Song Sparrows and a lingering Tree Sparrow.  Other returning migrants to Bird Alley was a pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds.

 

Above, A Northern Flicker

 

During the morning I went for a drive as I most always do; looking around the countryside  for birds or animals.  I found many ducks and Canada Geese at Hoyt where the fields are starting to fill with large pools of water from the melting snow.  I found a wonderful, colourful surprise there: A Northern Flicker. Also in the Hoyt area there were many Tree Swallows busily hunting for insects above the watery fields.

Upon returning back home we found a black-masked, ring-tailed, furry, unwelcome critter hunting for seeds on the ground in our feeder area: A raccoon.

And although I had checked our garden area for new growth in the morning, I had failed to notice the 

beautiful purple beginning of a crocus which I had found last evening, I  eagerly await its beautiful unfolding later on today!

also there were lots of Daffodil sprouts , whose beautiful blooms I will anticipate sometime to be in bloom during the month of  May.
Yesterday was a most beautiful spring day and I anticipate today to be as equally wonderful.  Hopefully you are having somewhat an equally beautiful spring experience wherever you are.