As the days have increased in length, the birds have been singing more. Red-bellied woodpeckers, mourning doves, cardinals, robins, chickadees, pine siskins, house finches, and juncos all seem to be singing more than they were only a few days ago. He was not singing, but uttered his call note repeatedly, as though irritated at being watched. He moved around in the shrubs very quickly. Gadwalls and shovelers have been swimming around in the open water in that same area for the past few weeks.
Snow fleas are tiny insects, usually less than a tenth of an inch long.
They feed on decaying plants or animals and are often seen in large numbers on the surface of water or snow. They overwinter as adults and mate in late winter and spring and the females lay eggs just beneath the soil surface. The eggs hatch and the nymphs feed throughout summer. It is not known whether there is more than one brood, but mature adults exist at least by winter. They are very small and hard to spot.