I haven’t been out and about a lot lately, so I’m not saying this is the first sighting, just MY first sighting:
Two separate V-formations of geese heading NORTH! Yesterday, Monday, February 24 right before sunset.
That’s a good sign of Spring.
The sightings were in Gwinnett County, GA, which is just NE of Atlanta.
Another change in things, of note, is that American Goldfinches are coming to the feeders in larger numbers now. The males are beginning to turn more yellow, which just means they are “beginning” to think about breeding season. The Eastern Bluebirds are thinking heavily about breeding season, guarding their box in our backyard, fluttering their wings a lot, darting at other birds — particularly European Starlings and House Sparrows — chasing them away. They are singing in the AM too, very loudly most days. What a lovely sound the Bluebirds voice is. Very much a Spring, and Summer staple in the South.