The Anticipation of Pleasure

I was told once that happiness is the anticipation of pleasure. While I'm sure there are lots of definitions of happiness out there in the blogosphere, I think mine is pretty fitting right now. Tomorrow is Saturday, I don't have to work, it's going to be sunny and warm and birds are really moving in from the south. I've seen lots of Great Blue Herons sailing over and the mornings are starting to have that "spring chorus" feel to them. More water is opening up and most of the wet heavy snow that we got earlier this week is gone. Tundra swans are still passing through and we've had the first woodcocks preenting in the evenings.
Some of my students wanted to see some more "cool bird pictures" so I thought I'd oblige.


I had another comment that asked when the songbirds begin to return to this neck of the woods and it actually begins pretty early in the year. Our first migrants are going north in January but what we consider songbirds begins in mid to late March and the last ones don't move through until the end of May. For now we should be seeing sparrows and shorebirds beginning to appear.
Good birding to everyone who is hitting the field tomorrow!