A male northern cardinal looks on. (Scot Stewart photo)

“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.” — Joseph Conrad

In the Upper Peninsula, Spring and April do not match up the way they do in other places. The crocuses, skunk cabbage and tree flowers have already begun blooming. Some front yards and patches in the woods have been snow free for a week or more. Sunny days and a few temperatures in the 50s have led life to thing Spring is on its way.

Now though it’s a little different. The governor thinks snow on the ground will keep gardeners, golfers and others from traveling in the outdoors for several more weeks naturally and help with less driving and more social (physical) distancing. The Sunday-Monday snowstorm certainly set the landscape back several weeks and the short warm-up this week will have all it can do to reverse that wintry look more. It is that adjustment all those living here have to make to physically and psychologically adjust to the ups and downs in Spring’s progression.

It’s time for humans and wildlife alike to make the necessary adjustments to a land recovered with snow, temperatures struggling to get above freezing. This time is particularly challenging to birds trying to find foods more typically found in spring. Two of the earliest birds returning here and now facing real challenges are eastern phoebes a type of flycatcher, and winter wrens. Both feed primarily on insects. Cluster flies, midges, even mourning cloak butterflies and honeybees were out looking for nectar in crocuses and sap from broken branches and cut tree stumps last week. Good meals for flycatchers and wrens. Those insects have all gone back into seclusion until warm times return, cutting off a huge food supply. There is little else available for them, unless they can find insects near warmer surfaces like the sunny sides of buildings and tree trunks, and near warm air flows like building air circulation units.

Ground feeders like American woodcocks, sandhill cranes and robins are having similar problems trying to find food, but because snow cover and refrozen ground have made it difficult to search for invertebrates on and just below the ground surface. It is a challenging time for all these species. Robins have readjusted back to fruit for their nourishment, looking for mountain ash fruit and old apples still on trees. There seems to be little activity in local crab apple trees so far. European starlings and house finches have also been seen in apple trees. Some birders have put dried fruit, meal worms and fishing worms out for robins in their yards. Woodcocks and cranes will head to areas of more open wetlands, like creek edges and some swampy areas to look for invertebrates. The cranes will also dig for roots and other plant material.

During this past storm some feeder birds clung to perches near the food all day hoping to avoid detection by predators. With gusty winds and limited perches due to all the snow on branches, it was tough to commute between more sheltered spots and food. Newly arrives dark-eyed juncos, a few fox sparrows, goldfinches, house finches and northern cardinals all stayed close and fed throughout the day at many feeders.

New arrivals across the entire U.P. have been limited recently. A good influx of turkey vultures has been seen at many sites. Brown-headed cowbirds, American tree and chipping sparrows are trickling into feeders. Northern flickers and just a couple yellow-bellied sapsuckers are the two summer resident woodpeckers in the area, and they have begun arriving. Hikers can check the trunks of maple trees to see if the sapsuckers have arrived in their neighborhood yet. Look for rows of drilled sap wells dripping sap. A few American kestrels have joined the recently landed merlins and peregrine falcons here. Near and on the water killdeers, double-crested cormorants, blue and green-winged teals are commonly being reported. At Whitefish Point, dunkadoo.org/explore/whitefish-point-bird-observatory/hawk-count-spring-2020 have seen a small number of red-tail hawks, bald and golden eagles are moving now. Snow buntings and rough-legged hawks are also on the move, but they have been winter residents now headed home to the north.

The waterbird count began on Wednesday at White Point, dunkadoo.org/explore/whitefish-point-bird-observatory/waterbirds-spring-2020. Red-necked grebes, common mergansers and long-tailed ducks were the first three seen that day. A few hawks were also spotted along the shore – northern harrier and sharp-shinned hawk. Guests can visit the point this spring but are currently limited to four at a time on the hawk platform and when there are guests waiting, there is a 30 minute limit to a stay on the platform.

With the current shelter-at-home policy in place, the best bet right now it to view raptor migration close to home. Rough-legged hawks and eagles are showing up in Marquette along with the turkey vultures. Other locations along shorelines and at higher elevations are good spots to see hawk and eagle migration. As soon as the new snow all melts some of those spots will again be good for birding hikes. Some trails have been a challenge as the packed trail snow is still melting so care should be taken to wear good footwear and check trails before taking extended forays into the woods. Now, more than ever, it is time to get out for some fresh air and stretch!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Scot Stewart is a teacher at Bothwell Middle School in Marquette and a freelance photographer.