At the end of January, I heard a northern cardinal sing. Birdy, birdy, birdy. What cheer, cheer, cheer. A crimson-red male sat at the top of the tree and sent out his advertisement to a nearby female.

Meteorological winter began Dec. 1; it is close to halfway through. We've gained 21 minutes of daylight as of Friday since the solstice Dec. 21. So it's time to hear the first whistled "what-cheer, ...