Being about 20 years older, I do remember both some mild winters and some very cold winters. El Nino/La Nina years do make a difference. That said, it's hard to ignore the trend toward warmer winters as well as hotter summers. I think it's climate change happening before our eyes, but a lot of otherwise sensible people are convinced climate change is all a hoax. It's hard to argue with someone saying you weren't around 500 years ago or 5000 years ago to say it wasn't like our present weather patterns.
One thing I have noticed is the migration of geese. I was just having a text conversation with a friend who is both a bird watcher and weather and climate enthusiast. I'll copy some of that conversation here (please excuse spelling and grammar errors):
Me: I've been seeing a lot of geese on the wing lately. Just heard some now, but don't see them. Saturday I saw the biggest flock I've seen in a long time up north side of Hord (small hamlet on US 45 south of Effingham) flying west. There were multiple formations, a few hundred total I would estimate.
What do you make of this sign?
My friend: These are snow and blue geese. Breeding areas are high latitude artic islands even to Baffin and Greenland. They're moving early i heard them going over end of December. Almost to the day the earliest is February 4 I hear them so this is really early. Where thy winter has been very warm. They move north to the very edge of ice and hold up arriving breeding grounds just has 24 hours of sun does May 1
Every year big flocks are in fields around the (Newton) power plant last year I saw a flock of 3 I estimated at 20,000 birds
Me: Those big flocks of geese at the power plant are a lot like you used to see every year down in the Mississippi River bottoms northeast of Cape Girardeau. The Union County Conservation Area had fields with thousands of geese, mostly Canada geese, but you would see snow geese too. There is a road you can drive through the conservation area to see the geese.
There are still geese there, but not like they used to be 40 years ago. It was a Mecca for goose hunters. There were at least half a dozen hunting clubs located along Route 3 between McClure and Ware and on 146 east of Ware to the hills. The Von Dot restaurant at Ware made its money feeding goose hunters. The geese have dwindled to a shadow of what there were and all those goose hunter camps and lodges have pretty much closed up. The restaurant and Veach Oil station at Ware are long gone.
Friend: Those geese have probably moved more north or south from temperature changes
They're still moving through just at a different time
Me: Yes, I think the migration has been changed from 50 years ago. Used to see flocks flying south in the fall like clockwork. Now they fly at odd times. I suppose it's warm enough that they stay farther north unless or until some major cold moves them south.
I think this is one of the most convincing arguments that we are seeing climate change, not just a few back to back warm winters. Those geese have gotten used to staying farther north to the point it has changed their favored stopover points when they do migrate.
