Spring is coming in Pittsburgh. What should we expect to find outdoors in early March?
A decade ago I would have said the list below definitely waits for early March but it has already happened in late February!
- The First of Year common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula) arrived in my Pittsburgh neighborhood on 24 February 2018. When I heard this sound I saw the first grackle.
- The First of Year turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) flew over Schenley Park on 26 Feb.
- Skunk cabbage was fully mature at Raccoon Creek State Park on 25 Feb, photo above.
- The first red maples bloomed in Schenley Park more than a week ago. Some of the flowers have already faded.
- Honeysuckle leaves opened on 20 Feb.
- Large flocks of robins (Turdus migratorius) came to Schenley Park on 26 Feb.
- Wood frogs are “quacking” and mating in the vernal ponds at Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve. I saw them yesterday, 28 Feb. (No spring peepers yet.)
- And it’s been Mud Season for weeks!
Spring is early but these sights and sounds will become more common in the next two weeks and we’ll start to see “late March” signs of spring.
There is one thing that never happens in February, even when it’s warm. We’ll “Spring Forward” the clocks on March 11 this year.
(photo by Kate St. John)
There is a flock of Robins that lives along Babcock Blvd in the North Hills thru the winter. They seem to like the Sumac trees that grow on the hillside behind where I work. None of the other signs of spring you mention yet in the North Hills.
I saw a robin about 3 weeks ago. Yesterday the birds sounded like spring
I saw some very early skunk cabbage sprouts in January or earlier this year. These were definitely exceptions.