Fans of phenology may appreciate my surprise, three days ago, when I found carpenter bees had emerged in numbers before the first sweet trill of returning Chipping Sparrows. If I'm not mistaken, this date is about six weeks prior to carpenter bee emergence last year at my place. Again this morning, the only trills I hear are short junco trills. Central Ohio is about 23 degree-days ahead of the long-term average this year, I think. Will the timing of local insect population surges occur so prematurely this year that some bird species will find insect protein diminished when they are migrating or when feeding young? Will climate extremes shift phenological patterns among plants, insects, and birds beyond the capacity of some species to adapt? Which species will be losers and which will be winners in the climate challenge--so many questions? Our phoebe is back in time for big bee meals! Tom Bain Delaware County ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]