Seeing Signs of Spring

They’re coming! The Mountain Bluebirds are on their way.

It’s the surest sign of spring we all look for out here and an email list came through today saying they saw the first ones outside of Laramie. Next they should be seen in the Casper area and then the Yellowstone area.

FIRST REPORTS

MARCH 1

• 2016: The first sightings of Mountain Bluebirds came in for both Wapiti and Gardiner.

MARCH 2

• 2014: Heard of a first sighting of Mountain Bluebirds in Gardiner.

MARCH 3

• 2014: A report of the first Mountain Bluebird for the Wapiti area came in.

MARCH 10

• 2015: First sightings of Mountain Bluebirds came in for both Wapiti and Gardiner.

FOLLOWING THE WINDS

The bluebirds winter farther south and east according to maps. You can ‘see’ the migration here on an eBird animated occurrance map.

When birds migrate, they use the winds to help them along. I know we’ve found a couple of spots in the Cody area where large flocks stop over. With another storm moving in, I imagine they’ll hunker down where they are now. But afterwards, I’ll be watching the winds and the reports as well.

There’s a mesmerizing map of the surface winds that gives an idea of what birds flying at lower altitudes will deal with.