03/23/2026
First full weekend of spring. The equinox was yesterday. Seven things to check in your yard before Monday.
1. Your feeder. Look at the House Finches. Any crusty or swollen eyes — feeder comes down today, scrubbed with a bleach solution, left down for two weeks. If all eyes are clear, clean the feeder anyway. Warm weather accelerates bacteria on perch surfaces.
2. Your nest boxes. Stand back and watch for ten minutes. If a bird enters or exits, the box is claimed. Note who's in. If a House Sparrow is carrying grass and paper inside, remove the material — they're invasive and not protected.
3. Your lawn before the first mow. Walk the yard slowly. Look for shallow depressions with fur or grass linings. Cottontail nests are nearly invisible — a small circle of matted grass that gives slightly when you step near it. If you find one, flag it and mow around it. Three weeks and they're gone.
4. Your trees before eight AM. Stand under any tree and count the singing species. Write the number down. This is your spring baseline. Every week it increases until mid-May. A song you don't recognize means a migrant arrived overnight.
5. The nearest pond or standing water. Check the logs. Painted Turtles are basking for the first time in months. Count them. They increase weekly — a living thermometer. More turtles on the logs means warmer water.
6. Your shrubs. Check anything blooming early — spicebush, forsythia, red maple. Are bees visiting. Mining bees hovering low over the lawn. The warmth released them. Note what's blooming and what's visiting.
7. Your night at nine PM. Open a window. If you hear high-pitched peeping from any direction, the frog chorus is running. If you hear a nasal peent from an open field, a woodcock is displaying. If you hear nothing, walk to the nearest wet area and try again.
🌿 Why this matters:
- Run the same seven checks next weekend and compare. The difference between this week and next is spring happening in real time
- The dawn chorus species count is the simplest tracker — it goes up almost every week through April
- The turtle count and the bee activity tell you what the soil and water temperatures are doing better than any thermometer
- The nest box check prevents house sparrow takeover early — catching it now saves a clutch of native eggs in two weeks
- The cottontail scan before mowing prevents the most common accidental wildlife harm in suburban yards every spring
Seven checks. One weekend. You'll see your yard differently on Monday 🌿
