Wednesday Walk - Good-bye Winter Hello Spring...

Spring is really late this year. The only precipitation we got in April was in the form of snow except one day where we got a little bit of rain. The night time temperatures were mostly below freezing.
Then finally it turned and the thaw began I could officially say it was Spring when I saw the robins had returned.

Close Up Robin on Spruce Treetop

There were many other birds that had returned and you could feel the urgency in the air for there is such a short amount of time for them to reproduce and get their off spring grown so they can migrate before the cold sets in again.

There was a new bird to our area - the Yellow-rumped Warbler that had a beautiful song. It was very busy in the maple trees checking the spots where holes had been drilled by the sap suckers and the sap was flowing. The sap attracted butterflies too, which I'm happy to say are back flitting around.

Yellow-rumped Warbler Checking Sap on Tree Trunk

Another View of Yellow-rumped Warbler

Up in the air the turkey vultures were circling around and I also saw a hawk - it too was circling around looking for prey.

Turkey Vulture Soaring in the Sky

Swainson’s Hawk in Flight

And there were still geese flying over.

Pair of Canada Geese Flying Over Treetops

Other birds that had been around all winter we often seen now in pairs.

Close Up White Breasted Nuthatch

Bluejay Hiding in Spruce Boughs

Another winged creature was the butterflies usually out in the sunny areas as was the one below who was sunning itself.

Butterfly Sunning Itself on the Dry Grass

We hadn't seen the flush of green in the trees yet but the catkins on the cotton woods were opening.

Walking Bruno By Cottonwood Trees with Open Catkins

The snow had melted off in the pasture so the horses had some fresh green grass to graze on.

Horse Grazing on Fresh Green Grass

We saw a snake trying to warm itself in the sun at the side of the road. It was pretty sluggish like it had just came out from under a snowbank. this allowed me to get real close and all it did was lift it's head.

Garter Snake Sunning Itself on the Gravel

The strangest thing I saw was this large beetle walking across the snow. It seemed like a water beetle for it had kind of flippers as it's back legs.

Large Beetle Walking Across Snow

Another one of those beetles appeared on the deck. I don't know where it came from but it sure looked out of place.

Large Looks Like Water Beetle on Dry Deck

Finally I'll leave you with a picture of JJ who is totally loving being able to have his dirt baths!

JJ Rolling in the Dirt

This is my #WednesdayWalk hosted by @tattoodjay go check out his latest post here. He collaborates with @elizacheng and her #MakeMeSmile initiative see her latest post here

The photos were taken with my Canon PowerShot SX60 HS.

Thanks for stopping by!

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