Spring's Magic Moment

What a splendiferous day it was on this last day in April. I was awakened by the sound of beating wings and the haunting calls that have filled the spring skies since before man first tread on these wild lands. The annual fly-past of Canada Geese had begun. And although I’ve been watching this spring rite each year since my husband and I came to this part of West Quebec almost 20 years ago, I still marvel at the magic of these big birds flying overhead in their ‘V’ formations, some perfect, some not so, heading northward towards their breeding grounds on the shores of James Bay and Hudson Bay.

And as I do each year, I donned my warm fleece (at -5C, summer is still something to look forward to), grabbed my binoculars, a hot cup of tea and my usual morning chocolate chip cookie (need sustenance, you know) and headed over to the neighbouring farm to where I would have a 360 view of the sky. And so for the next hour or so I watched the endless formations span across the sky. Some quite low, the whiteness of their breasts clearly seen, almost as if they were still gaining higher altitude after a night spent in a near-by field. While others, the later arrivals, had already achieved their altitude. But regardless of how high they fly, their honking can be heard as clearly as if they were only a few feet above my head.

It’s a magical moment, one I look forward to each spring. Invariable this fly-past happens in early May, usually around May 7. Except this year it’s happening almost a week earlier. Although I don’t know for certain, I’ve always assumed the timing is related to when the ice finally disappears from the lakes. This year the ice was gone by April 19, a good two weeks earlier than usual. Is nature trying to tell us something?

View the magic.