The bird world is amazing. If you’re reading this column, you likely already know that, but every once in a while something reminds me of just how incredible birds really are.

The other day, March 11 to be exact, I heard the song I’ve been waiting to hear for months: the unmistakable two-syllable song of the eastern phoebe. Like many birds, phoebes say their name, a raspy “fee-bee.”

I turned my head toward the song and instantly saw the smallish songbird perched on a telephone wire. Of course, the bird was bobbing its tail as phoebes almost always do.

It was the first phoebe I saw this year, or my FOY (first of year) phoebe in birding lingo. It came on one of the unseasonably warm days we had, and I wasn’t overly surprised to see the bird. Still, it seemed a bit early for the phoebe to be back in New England, so I checked my eBird account to see when I saw my FOY last year.

Sure enough, it was March 11. The first phoebe I saw occurred on the same exact calendar day as last year. In October of last year, this bird left New England for southern U.S. or Mexico. Sometime in February it began its journey back north and arrived at my place of work on the same day as last year. Of course, I can’t tell with all certainty it’s the same bird, but I’d like to think so.

I always appreciate my first phoebe sighting a little more than my FOY of other birds. To me, the phoebe is the true harbinger of spring. American robins are usually credited with being the first sign of spring, but there are many robins to be seen in New England throughout winter, so I never know what robins are returning from the south and which ones have been here all along.

Red-winged blackbirds return in February, but I don’t get too excited about them because, as a New Englander, I know there is still plenty of winter left. I saw my first red-winged blackbirds in mid-February, a few days before 18 inches of snow fell. March and April can still be pretty nasty in New England, but at least spring is that much closer.

American woodcock, with their early March return, is another good harbinger of spring, but they tend to be more secretive and are not as easily spotted. What good is an uplifting sign of spring if you can’t see it? You can, of course, venture into the woods or a field at dusk to look and listen for their aerial courtship display, or you can wait for a phoebe to appear on a telephone wire above your head.

Now that phoebes are returning, many more migrants will follow. Some will be close behind, and some are several weeks behind, but the spring migration is on. In March, look for the return of ospreys and some shorebirds. I also saw my FOY pine warbler on the last day or two of March last year, but they are more likely to be seen in early April. Pine warblers and palm warblers kick off the highly anticipated warbler migration, which will peak in early to mid-May.

March may not be the most exciting month for birding as migration starts with a trickle and the weather is unpredictable (but usually still cold), but it’s the start of something amazing.

A ton of snow followed by prolonged freezing temperatures can spell disaster for birds. Luckily, birds have developed several survival strategies to cope with such conditions.

There are several factors at play in these conditions. I will focus mostly on finding food but will address some of the others quickly. 

First, there is the cold. Birds survive freezing temperatures through adaptations that conserve heat and energy. Feathers provide excellent insulation, and many birds maximize this by fluffing their feathers to trap warm air close to their bodies. Birds also have a high metabolic rate, which is fueled by energy-rich foods such as seeds and fat commonly found at feeders. 

At night, birds will roost in sheltered locations out of the wind, and some species will huddle together for warmth. That’s why it’s important to clean out birdhouses after the nesting season so birds have a place to go in extreme conditions. Other birds will simply fly to where it is warmer.

Birds need water to survive as well. In extreme cold temperatures, they will visit birdbaths, unfrozen bodies of water like streams or rivers, or take advantage of sunny days by drinking from melting icicles and snow. On days when I am home all day, I frequently pour warm water into the birdbath to provide a drinking source. They can also safely get water from snow.

Food can be tricky under these conditions, especially for birds like sparrows that find most of their food on or near the ground. All those food sources are now unavailable and have been for many days. I was thrilled a few weeks ago when I saw a goldfinch eating seeds from the dead coneflower heads in my garden. The coneflower stems and heads are completely buried now and have been since that big storm. 

That’s why bird feeders are particularly helpful in the winter. With most of the seeds buried, feeders become an important resource for birds. Studies have shown that bird feeders comprise a small portion of a bird’s diet, but I would guess that it becomes a larger portion in weather like this. My feeders have been extra busy since the storm, especially with Carolina wrens and tufted titmice. I haven’t seen a ton of juncos or white-throated sparrows, however.

Just like birds will leave a region to escape the cold, they will also move far from home to look for food. This sometimes brings unusual feathered visitors to our parts. In the days following the storm, I had a red-breasted nuthatch, fox sparrow, and yellow-bellied sapsucker visit my feeders. The nuthatch has been here for several weeks, assuming it’s the same bird, but the sparrow and sapsucker may have been happily lurking deep in the woods somewhere prior to the storm. The snow forced them to search for food and they ended up in my yard.

I got a message from Dan in Keene last week letting me know that a red-headed woodpecker made a brief visit to his feeder. (He assured me it wasn’t a red-bellied woodpecker.) Perhaps that bird was previously in a place where food was scarce, and its search for food brought it to Keene. 

I didn’t even mention red-headed in my column last week when I referred to all the woodpeckers that live in New England because they are not typically found here. Red-bellied woodpeckers are becoming increasingly common, but the red-headed woodpecker is still somewhat rare. Just as the red-bellied woodpecker is expanding its range northward, perhaps the red-headed will expand eastward.

Sustained deep snow and freezing temperatures is not a great scenario for birds. Much of the food is buried under several inches of snow, and the cold will keep it that way for days on end. The birds have survived these conditions for centuries and have the tools to survive. That said, I’m sure a feeder here and there doesn’t hurt.

That’s not a spotlight, that’s the moon rising over the opposite tree line. It’s otherwise pitch dark. Pillsbury State Park, NH.