the order of returning birds this year

canada geese (these stayed; they were on their way further north)
woodcocks (maybe always here?)
killdeer, sandpipers (same?)
wood thrushes
catbirds
wrens
oriole
swifts

just yesterday (May 3), the first oriole, high in an old apple tree not yet in blossom, and the first swifts--maybe these were back sooner, but it was the first I'd seen them, darting up so high, burbling to themselves, splitting cloud from sky.

And the wren, with its song too big and loud to fit in its tiny body.

Meanwhile, the magnolias are dropping their petals, the violets are in drifts across lawns, and in the wetlands, the marsh marigolds are in bloom.