The Birds of Setsubun

There's no sneaking up on this bird. There have been lots of beautiful birds coming out of hiding--I've been seeing a lot of these with the blue and red feathers.



I was telling students last week that it was Groundhog Day (February 2) and they were telling me the next day was Setsubun (節分, February 3), which marks the first day of spring regardless of what groundhogs see in the U.S.



The big birds are out and about, too.

And I've also seen my first official turtle of 2021.



If it's anything like last year, this fellow will be only the first of a massive tide of turtle mobs.