Some of you may have heard the news recently about the seventy-year-old albatross that hatched another chick. It got me thinking about the life span of our feathered friends. I have wondered for example if it is the same bald eagle I have been seeing during the spring and fall migration in the same tree on the shoreline of Lake Metigoshe, or the wrens in our birdhouse are the same birds as last year. We may have a tendency to think that some of these birds are the same ones, but that is probably not accurate.

April is just about here, so that old saying “April showers bring May flowers” might come to mind. But we do not have to wait until May. The earliest of our flowering plants start coming into bloom in April, and Hood’s phlox is one of them.

The calendar tells us that the season is changing. But for many early cultures the change of seasons and annual cycle was marked by the occurrence of full moons, and we have a full moon coming up on the 28th. As most everyone knows, the full moons were so significant to early cultures that they were given names.

I have been seeing tracks of snowshoe hares during my outings in the Turtle Mountain forest, although I have yet to see one. It might surprise you, but they are native to North Dakota. Historically they could be found in Turtle Mountain, Pembina Hills, around Devils Lake, Killdeer Mountains, and wooded areas along the Red, Mouse, and Missouri Rivers.

It has been a long winter, and my thoughts are turning to spring. But I have been doing more reading this winter including rereading portions of Sigurd Olson’s Runes of the North, first published in 1963.

I had the good fortune recently to get a good look at eight moose, most with antlers! They were strolling through a harvested small grain field west of Bottineau. I bet they were not three hundred yards away. We pulled off the highway and watched them for several minutes. They are magnificent animals, but they look like they were designed by a committee!

Coming down Minot’s north hill recently, I was again struck by the immensity of the Souris River Valley compared to the relatively small flowage of the present-day Souris River. How could that large valley have formed? The Souris River is an underfit river, sometimes called a misfit river. The river valley indicates a much larger river formed the valley in the past. Other rivers, including the Pembina, James, and Sheyenne rivers formed in a similar fashion.

The comings and goings at our bird feeders has been rather routine this winter. We are getting the usual chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches, pine siskins, downy and hairy woodpeckers on a regular basis. But we are seeing a few red-breasted nuthatches coming in for the suet and sunflower seeds.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up February 12-15. As some of you may know it is an effort between the Cornell Lab of Ornithology National Audubon Society, and Birds Canada to help scientists better understand the population dynamics and movements of birds during the winter.

Clear summer nights are great for looking up at the heavens. But there is something about clear winter nights that makes the night sky even more awe inspiring. I am not sure why. Maybe it has something to with the cold crisp air. I was thinking about one night recently when I happened to look skyward and saw the Milky Way in all its glory. What a sight! We need to look up more often at night.