Spring arriving in all its raucous and deliberate awakening is heralded by a symphony of vanguard spring peepers, hyla crucifer, that transform the cold and drear into a circus of vivacious trilling.
This stately accipiter, a Cooper's hawk, is an infrequent visitor to my avian diner complete with railings where seeds large and small are laid out for any and all local birds braving the cool of winter.
To find an evasive early hairstreak takes some planning and alert eyes willing to scan the trail out to Stoney Ledge, a lengthy hike on the extended slopes of Mount Greylock.