DAVE: From the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, I’m Dave Anderson with Something Wild…

CHRIS: And I’m Chris Martin from NH Audubon. Hey, Dave! Now that it’s finally April, we’ll soon have migrant bird “fallout” on southwest winds of an approaching warm front.

DAVE: I marvel how specific NH destinations are lodged in the “onboard navigational computer” of tiny brains in millions of colorful warblers who are already departing Central America.

CHRIS: No coincidence that New Hampshire is a preferred summer destination for breeding birds. Insect protein fuels nesting, incubating eggs and feeding vulnerable chicks. It’s worth facing the hazards of migration.

 DAVE: Also plant carbohydrates from native fruits and berries provide fuel to form flight feathers fast! Northern breeding birds co-evolved timing of their breeding seasons to take advantage of both insect protein and sugary carbohydrates. Even for birds, New Hampshire is a great place to raise a family! So which came first: the birds or the plants upon which they depend?

CHRIS: Dave, that’s just the sort of question that troubles scientists studying climate change with special concern for changes in the precise annual timing of flowering and fruiting periods…

DAVE: The last glacier swept the New Hampshire slate clean 12,000 years ago, All wildlife retreated south then rebounded back into New England after the ice melted.

CHRIS: But remember slow change may be “more normal” than some ideal constant condition. It’s likely our landscape and climate are continuing to rebound! Adaptability is essential to the resilience of all biological diversity!

DAVE: In other words, Chris, when it comes to the “Chicken or the Egg?” question, you really just don’t know?

CHRIS: It’s an April Fool’s Day mystery, Dave. Like a Zen Koan - the sound of one hand clapping or one wing flapping?

DAVE: This spring it’s more like “one glacier melting” … meanwhile, Something Wild remains a joint production of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests…

CHRIS: New Hampshire Audubon, and NHPR…For Something Wild, he’s Dave Anderson…

DAVE:… and he’s Chris Martin!