If you want to know the surest sign of spring, look up. Way up! When spring has sprung you'll see turkey vultures soaring high overhead. Yes, turkey vultures tell us a lot about the arrival of spring. Interestingly, they always return to Hinckley, Ohio on March 15. There's a reason they don't show up before that.
So it's not robins that are the reliable harbinger of spring. It's those big, soaring birds we see all summer long. Find out why in my March 16 column in the Jamestown Gazette, "Watching for the Wrong Bird."
To read other blog posts from MISSION: HUNTER, CLICK HERE to go to www.EverydayHunter.com.
PHOTO CAPTIONS:
Vulture in flight: Vultures can easily be identified from great distances by their “V” wing profile. (Photo courtesy of Pennsylvania Game Commission.)
Vulture in tree: Turkey vultures are not one of nature’s prettiest creatures, but they’re well designed for what they do. (Joe Kosack/PGC Photo.)