A chickadee was pecking apart this cocoon, while others were finding other choice bits of insect life in dead leaves and along branches.

Crows are gathering twigs for nesting material and also engaging in courtship displays. Many house finches are paired off and doing the same thing, courting! Chickadees are beginning to hollow out nest holes. Elsewhere, ravens are already on the nest, and various other species are either nesting, or thinking about it. Of course, the great thrust of migrating birds has not even begun yet, and hence, the height of nesting season is still some ways off, but things are happening in the bird world after this long winter.