Harbingers of Spring

Derivation of the word harbinger: "Middle English from Old French herbergere, from herbergier ‘provide lodging for’, from herberge ‘lodging’, from Old Saxon heriberga ‘shelter for an army, lodging’ (from heri ‘army’ + a Germanic base meaning ‘fortified place’), related to harbor. The term originally denoted a person who provided lodging, later one who went ahead to find lodgings for an army or for a nobleman and his retinue, hence, a herald (mid 16th century)." -- Oxford English Dictionary.

I've always liked the sound of the phrase harbinger of spring. It makes me think of birds singing to defend the territories where they soon will nest, and of tiny flowers pushing up through recently frozen earth. I vaguely wondered where harbinger, such an interesting word, came from, but this is the first time I've ever looked it up. 

Winter aconite: one of the first flowers to emerge each spring.

Hellebore, an early bloomer in a neighbor's garden

Happily, we have recently been seeing some avian harbingers of spring on our walks and at our bird feeders. The robins, year-round residents, have switched from their winter behavior of flying in large flocks. They are now pairing off and finding nesting places. Early migrants like red-winged blackbirds and killdeer have arrived in the marshy areas of local wetlands. Other birds are stopping here briefly on their way to breeding grounds farther north. Migration continues with a sequence of different species, and goes on for several months: this is just the beginning.

Killdeer have returned to Michigan from Mexico. 

Migrating waterfowl in breeding plumage:
 redheads, ring-necked ducks, lesser scaup, and widgeon.

We could still have another big snow storm (even a blizzard like the one that buried Michigan on Saint Patrick’s Day in 1973) but we hope this spring will not produce one of those occasional set-backs. 

A sign of hope: having been vaccinated, we can go to the supermarket.
A harbinger of spring -- Easter candy on display.

Blog post © 2021 mae sander.