Omen of Spring

Let the swallows come back to Capistrano to signal the arrival of spring. Hinckley, Ohio, has something that may not be better but certainly is different: the annual return of the buzzards. The great birds like to roost in trees in the parks just outside town, and since 1885 the local citizens have made the best of the situation. Buzzard Day is March 15. On the following Sunday, the Chamber of Commerce celebrates by holding a breakfast of sausages and pancakes. Boy Scouts hawk buzzard T shirts and everybody tells birdbrained jokes.

Last week, however, the citizenry was concerned. March 15th was fast approaching, and no buzzard had come to call. On the appointed day, 30 members of the Buzzard Club who had traveled from St. Louis to celebrate the event anxiously scanned the skies. They were well fortified against the cold and wore yellow cardboard beaks on their faces. Suddenly Park Ranger Bud Burger, peering through high-powered binoculars, spotted a distinctive shape soaring high over a snow-covered field. Moments later, a buzzard glided to a perch in a tall tree about a mile away. There was jubilation among the onlookers. If the buzzards had come to Hinckley, could spring be far behind?

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