Birds' spring songs may be coming earlier
Chickadees’ songs cheer up New Englanders in their shortening winters. The species shown here, the Black-Capped Chickadee, is the state bird of Massachusetts.
Song sparrow
‘On any given, relatively warm winter day, the melodies of song sparrows and chickadees float down from the trees.
“Hearing birdsong in early winter is both a natural and unnatural phenomenon, according to ornithologists. As days get longer and warmer, the birds’ internal clocks urge them to sing.
“That’s why you may hear birds that live here year-round, like the chickadee, or that winter here but breed father north, like the American robin, sing during nice weather, according to Salve Regina University professor Jameson Chase. ‘So, not unusual and certainly not on warm days.’
“But with spring-like weather coming earlier and earlier due to climate change, some of the songs of the season may be coming a little earlier, too.’’
Please hit this link to read the whole article, by Colleen Cronin