This year’s December 22 high of 76° F in Boulder and Denver came close to that record, and temperatures remained warm enough this fall to keep local ponds and lakes ice-free throughout December and into January. 

“Où sont les neiges d'antan?”   “Where are the snows of bygone years?” Well, I haven’t heard that exact question from local friends and colleagues, but I have heard, “I remember when it used to always snow before Halloween,” or “What happened to the early fall snows that we used to get?”

Have you noticed an increase locallly in some of your favorite eastern U.S. songbirds? Species with an affinity for deciduous woodlands have been increasing in Colorado, including Boulder County.

In early spring, sparrows, siskins, finches, and other seed-eating birds flock to our backyard feeders, stocking up on calories to fuel nesting activities.  Meanwhile, neighborhood fox squirrels are busy providing milk and nuts for their first brood of young, and there’s hardly anything more attractive to fox squirrels than bird feeders.

One benefit of these frigid, snowy days is the opportunity to get close to Ferruginous and Rough-legged Hawks.  When temperatures are hovering near zero, raptors would rather stay put on their perches than fly away.