Episode
105 - The First Thing Every Animal Does When Spring Arrives
- Podcast
- Buzz Blossom & Squeak
- Published
- Mar 19, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 955
- Processing state
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Summary
Spring fever is real — and it turns out every creature in the natural world has it too. In this episode I'm exploring the very first thing each animal does the moment winter releases its grip. From frogsicles thawing in vernal ponds to bumblebee queens hunting for a home underground, nature wastes absolutely no time. Frogsicles and Spring Peepers Wood frogs freeze solid over winter — no heartbeat, no breathing, just ice crystals in their body held together by glucose flooding from the liver. When they thaw, the first thing they do is head straight for a vernal pond to breed. Spring peepers, barely bigger than your thumb, do the same on the first rainy 42-degree night. Turtles, Bears, and Groundhogs Painted turtles spend winter buried in mud, breathing through their skin. When they surface, their first priority is warmth — they can't even digest food until they soak up enough sun on a log. Black bears emerge already having given birth during hibernation, now needing to rebuild the 30% of body weight lost. Groundhog males emerge weeks before the females — not to predict weather, but to map territory and locate burrows before the females arrive. Birds on the Move Red-winged blackbirds are often back before the snow is fully gone, the males arriving first to claim their patch of marsh and start singing. Robins never fully left — they moved into the deep woods — and now edge back toward lawns as the soil begins to thaw. And sandhill cranes return to the same wetlands year after year, reconnecting with their partners through an elaborate rattling call and dance. The Bumblebee Queen She spent the entire winter underground — alone, as the sole surviving member of last year's colony. In early spring she emerges and takes on every role at once: architect, forager, nurse, and fur…