The shelter of the yew trees
The sound of a magpie echoes through my favourite part of the woods. I am nestled under the sheltering branches of a stand of yew trees. I peer through the branches as if looking out through uncombed morning hair—bright eyed and eager first thing in the morning.
The tangled but connecting branches are like a latticework of lace. I feel like I am in my own secret hideaway, where I can see but not be seen. It is the perfect place to sink to the ground, exhale, and simply absorb the early spring morning.
As I settle to the damp earth, fragrant from the yew branches and recent rain, I see a flash of white and black in the trees and foliage near me. At ground eye level, I see portions of the woodland that have escaped had I been walking or sitting other than on the ground. I am nearly supine, nestled against the earth, and this opens up an entirely new vista.
The awakening spring landscape
I watch the magpie hop about on the ground, letting out its guttural call, joining into the ever-increasing sound of bird call in the woods. Whether the calls are territorial warnings, mating calls, or just happy sounds of enjoying the rare flash of sun, I do not know.
But the magpie is a new presence in the awakening spring landscape. While they do not technically migrate, they are certainly absent from the winterscape of the woods. In high summer, magpies are everywhere—flying, hopping, calling out. They cannot be missed. Their sudden absence in the winter is marked.
And the sudden reappearance in the spring seems just as marked. All of a sudden, busily on a mission hopping about on the ground and vocalizing, the magpie is the surest harbinger of spring yet to make a showing.
The woodlands are vibrant today with the varied calling of birds that have not been heard since late autumn. Overhead a silent V of birds going north wings high above the canopy. There is the errant call of returning geese.
The signal of spring
But it is the magpie, with its flashes of white and black in the soft color of the greening woods, that commands attention today. I let out a soft sigh, and simply watch, and enjoy, as the magpie going about its business is yet another signal of the return of spring.