Hey tweets, Matthew Dufort's report of a Barn Swallow at the Fill yesterday seems to me to be a pattern of lone Barn Swallows showing up here in January. I've always wondered if such early birds are the first outliers of a later spring migration, or if they are birds that have overwintered somewhere in our area and have just gone undetected until now. No way to tell without IDing the individual bird, I suppose.

From my point of view, though, I like to take such birds as harbingers of an early spring. Though I love the rain, and the grays of our Seattle skies are every color of the grayscale rainbow, I am glad to see the first hints of crocuses coming up, and the tips of daffodils. My white camellia bush is showing buds already, and I know some of you have red ones already abloom. Spring is on the way.

To prepare ourselves for the coming rush of birds in a hurry to get on with bringing up the next generation, I am offering a one-off class on Feb. 8 through UW Botanic Gardens called "Avian Love." Email me offlist if you're interested in signing up. - Connie