The night was Feb. 21, 2026. The sky was clear and bright, cloudless and windless. It was the perfect night to hear the approach of spring.
Last Saturday evening was ideal for hearing owls as they announced their breeding territories and wooed mates. It was one of those rare times when I heard all three of our common owls calling in one night, and it all happened before 9 p.m.
I expected to hear barred owls, and I did. They are the most frequently seen and heard owls in Maine. On this particular night, they were less vocal than usual. Where I usually hear barred owls, a pair of great horned owls were hooting back and forth to each other. Barred owls are intimidated by great horned owls, which consider them tasty.
The main reason for me to be out on a winter evening was to listen for northern saw-whet owls. Great horned and barred owls don’t migrate, but most Maine-breeding saw-whet owls do. They leave late in the fall and return before winter ends. Since small numbers do stick around through the coldest months, it’s impossible to know if a February owl has remained all winter or has just returned. I’ve tried for the last few years to figure out their timetable.
Northern saw-whet owls are tiny — roughly the size of a hairy woodpecker. They are so small that a single mouse is too big for one meal. Larger owls and other raptors would happily make a meal of a saw-whet. Hence, they hide. They roost in conifers during the day, obscured by the needles.
Their diminutive size and skulky habits make them difficult to find, and they aren’t frequently reported. But I hear them often enough to suspect they are common in Maine. I’ve got a mental list of places I’ve heard them, and I sometimes drop by to listen on a night, as I did last Saturday. Sure enough, the one I heard was in a spot where I had first heard them years ago.
This was not the first sound of spring last Saturday. Earlier in the day, I heard a dark-eyed junco singing. Several have been in my yard all winter, sporadically visiting the bird feeder. This was the first noise they made in several months. The junco’s two-tone trill is one of my favorite early signs of spring.
Woodpeckers start drumming even earlier. Hairy and downy woodpeckers pair up early. They’ve been drumming for weeks, reinforcing the pair bond with mates.
It’ll be about two more weeks before the next signs of spring arrive. That will be a race between common grackles and turkey vultures to see who gets here first. In truth, some are already here, since they never left the state to begin with.
A few common grackles typically show up somewhere in Maine during the winter, often at a backyard feeder. Many winter over in Massachusetts, and the rest gather in large flocks throughout the eastern United States.
Turkey vultures used to winter south of Maine, but climate change has made it possible for some to stay. It was once rare to see them north of Kittery. Now they are commonplace up to Brunswick, and a few wander north of there. While politicians may decry climate change as a hoax, birders are watching it happen in real time.
Mourning doves are the first to visit my backyard feeders each morning, usually before sunrise. There are 10 gathered there right now. I’m looking for signs of romantic behavior, because doves also pair up early. Currently, they are only jockeying for position on the ground, trying to grab sunflower seeds dropped by wasteful nuthatches. When I start to see males following females all over the yard, I’ll know that winter is finished for them and spring has begun.
It’s been a good winter for ice fishing, and a great winter for bald eagles feasting on discarded bait and fish guts. I’ve observed dozens gathering on the lake each day. It won’t be long before I spot one carrying a stick, signifying the beginning of nest-building season.
American goldfinches have remained in my yard all winter. They are currently in their drab colors. Any moment now, I expect to see the first bright, chrome-yellow feather as they begin to molt into summer plumage.
Winter doesn’t last as long as it once did. Birders already notice the little signs of spring. For nonbirders seeking relief, well, the Red Sox have begun spring training.