Is it hot out there or is it just me?

I promised myself that I would note when our seasonal birds and other critters show up in NE Ohio for this 2012 Spring.  Before that thought had time to leave my head, the warmer-than-usual winter petered out the first week in March.  Wow.  I kept waiting for our big March/April snowstorm that we usually get after a warm-up, but it didn't happen.  (By the time it did storm the air and ground were so warm hardly any stuck to the ground and most of it fell as rain.)  Usually about mid-March the Robins show up, then later the Red-Wing black birds follow, and in the middle of this the spring Peeps start their nightly chorus while my hyacinths, tulips, and other early plants start sprouting.

First, the hyacinths, tulips, irises, and rhubarb have been sprouting since mid-December.  Yes, that's right, in NE Ohio these plants were growing.  However, it wasn't a huge growth spurt since we did have below freezing nights.  We didn't have the usual layer of snow to insulate/protect the plants from the freeze/thaw cycles either which worried me a bit.  In fact, we've only reached 40% or our usual snowfall for 2011-2012 season.  Yes, I know, a weak la Nina formed in the fall (2011) and that has contributed to our warmer-than-usual winter but still, I haven't seen a winter like this in 15 years with tons of snow before and after that year.  Maybe the accelerated climate change has kicked in like the climatologist suggest?  As NPR reports, March 2012s claim to fame is 7,700 daily temperature records broken across the US, while the 2011/2012 winter is the 4th warmest on record.  Not to mention the earlier than usual forest fires Thom Hartmann mentioned the other day on his radio show and plenty of other climate change indicators that weren't supposed to show up until 2025 or later.

Back to the birds and other critters.  This year I heard my first Red-Wing black bird on March 2, 2012.  I thought I was imagining it, but soon found out they were back.  By the 10th the Robbins were bobbing around snagging worms and such--note that the RW black birds came back first.  The night before the RW black birds showed up, the peeps started their nightly chorus (almost deafening in my neck of the woods).  Most unusual, the Blue birds showed up the 3rd week of March when they usually aren't around until May when the Hummingbirds appear.  Speaking of which, I thought I saw a Hummingbird yesterday April 15th.  I'll have to keep an eye out to make sure, though.  Usually they fly right up to my face to let me know they're back and I should put out the feeders.  Don't worry, I only use organic sugar with no red dyes.  BTW, the Clematis is already 18" high and the chives are flowering, but how relevant is that since I can't remember the 2 springs before with these plants (thanks to AUs accelerated classes for 2 years straight :)? 

All these early birds make me wonder if there is some seasonal plant/insect that doesn't show up early if it is warm, but goes by the length of days, will leave some hungry.  On the up side, the maple syrup producers did well as my cousin told me.  I thought that the warmer weather would slow the sap flow, but silly me, they just started a little earlier this year.  To top it off, the freezing nights with warmer days really got the sap flowing.  I'll have to drive over some afternoon and pick up a 2nd or 3rd tap.  Love that darker stuff--the later it's tapped the better for me--great that I have relatives who make maple syrup, too. 

Off to batten down the hatches with our crazy, wild wind blowing everything around.