Day 78: March 18 – Signs of spring at Smyrna Dunes

Warm and sunny with a light breeze

“To every thing there is a season…”

                                                               Ecclesiastes 3:1

       A delightful day for a walk around Smyrna Dunes Park at the north end of the barrier island.  Even though spring officially does not begin for another 3 days, the portents of the upcoming season are all around us. 

       The first indication we have is the prickly pear cactus which is just starting to bloom.  The brilliant yellow blossoms  Normally, we don’t expect to see the cacti in bloom until early April, but the extremely mile winter has urged to flowers to make a premature appearance, and we welcome the splash of color on an otherwise drab landscape.

       As we leave the boardwalk and head down to the jetty at Ponce Inlet, we encounter (as we always do) a snowy egret which is working the shallows around the boulders and begging bits of left over bait from a nearby fisherman.  The feature of note indicating that spring has arrived is the facial skin of this particular.  Normally a bright yellow,  the facial skin is now turning a deep reddish orange and the plumes forming a crest are appearing on the back of the head…..more signs of spring.

    

       We re-enter the boardwalk and find a bird quite common along the sandy surface of the area behind the dunes, the Palm warbler.  These birds have been here since we arrived in January, but the colors have become much more pronounced as the warblers have begun molting into their breeding plumage. 

Palm warbler - March 18, 2012

Palm warbler - February 2012

       Some changes are subtle and some not so much.  But close observation reveals many signs that the “times they are a-changin’”