February Nature Happenings

February is National Bird Feeding Month!

• Great Backyard Bird Count, mid-month, www.birdcount.org 
• Project FeederWatch continues, www.feederwatch.org
• Look for Eastern Bluebirds to start pairing off before their March nesting season begins. 
• Bluebird and other nesting boxes need to be cleaned out this month from wintering residents.
• Eastern Meadowlarks return from their winter habitats in late February.
• Red-winged Blackbirds, Killdeer and Great Blue Herons return.
• Kildeer are members of the plover family and are known for their "distraction display," pretending to have a broken wing to divert predators from its ground nest.
• Watch for Sandhill Cranes migrating north in late February. 
• Grackles return north.
• Bald Eagles begin their nesting behaviors. www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bald_Eagle/lifehistory
• Chipmunks reappear at feeders as temperatures rise.