Is spring here yet? That might be on your mind as St. Patrick’s Day arrives and another March weekend. The answer to when spring arrives really depends on your own perspective. I know that some people don’t feel like it’s spring until there’s consistent warm weather and the chance of frost is completely gone. But by the time that happens, much of the magic of the season has already occurred.
Solar spring, which is generally how I like to think of the first beginnings of spring, started back on Feb. 5 and we’re now approaching halfway between that and solar summer, which begins May 5. Solar summer marks the three months of the greatest daylight. If you wait until early May for spring, then you have missed all the early flowers, lots of animal activity, including the spring peepers, and even much of the greening of the landscape that is well underway by then.
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This time of the year I like to take my spring cues from nature. There’s a lot going on. Birds are already mating and seeking out nesting spots for their first or, perhaps. only brood of the year. If you spend a little bit of time watching the robins this weekend you might notice pairing or nest-building taking place. They are one of the first groups of birds to mate, although not as early as some of the owls who have already laid their eggs.
Many birds take on one partner for just a season while still others, but not as many as you might think, take on that partner for life.
There are, in fact, many birds that are a bit more promiscuous. The male red-winged blackbird and house wren are actually common local birds that are polygynous, mating with multiple females. When males use this strategy, it is called “polygyny,” meaning one male forms pair bonds with numerous females. Even more unique is when a female bird is polygamous, it is called “polyandry,” which means she forms bonds with several males.
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The spotted sandpiper is one such example. Hummingbirds, which will return next month, are another. The female hummingbirds have just a brief interaction with the males, playing no role in nest-building or raising the young. I came across a decades-old but still relevant study by Dr. Patricia Adair Gowarty, a behavioral ecologist at the University of Georgia, who reported that while researching 180 socially monogamous species, only about 10 percent were devoted sexually. Maybe this makes a good topic for discussion on that nature walk this weekend.
Whether you are enthralled by plants or animals or even both, there are so many places to get outside and connect with nature.
Mass Audubon has numerous properties to visit. The Trustees of Reservations stewards properties all across the state and many of them are free. Mount Auburn Cemetery is one of my favorite birding locals, as is the Arnold Arboretum in Boston and New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston. In just a couple of weeks the headquarters of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in Wellesley will be open, adding another outdoor venue to choose from.
Spring is here and, yes, some mornings next week will be frosty, but nature won’t ask the question “When is it spring?” For most living things, it’s here.
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