Early migrating birds back already?!

The unmistakable sound of the blue-gray gnatcatchers that spend their winter in my neighborhood caught my attention last night. It's only the end of July. Why are they back so early? In past years, I had noticed their return in August.

If you pay attention to the timing of natural events like this, that's called phenology. So there's your word for the day.

Maybe it's just me, but the gnatcatchers seem to live here more than they live in their "summer" home! They come early and they leave late.

Photo from U.S. Geological Survey