It’s definitely springtime here in central Florida. Wildflowers are blooming like crazy, everything is getting green again, and all our resident birds are heavily engaged in breeding behaviors. For some that means getting brighter colors or fancier plumage, while for others it means marking and protecting territory and building nests. Such is the case of our local tufted titmice (Baeolophus bicolor). They may get slightly more colorful, but for the most part their breeding season is marked by behavioral changes. This time of year, from the moment the sun starts to peak over the horizon until near darkness has set in, the woods are filled with birdsong. It sounds beautiful and engaging to us, but most of the time, it’s actually a way for birds to mark their territory and warn other birds to leave. This week, I caught one of the male titmice singing away up in the big oak tree. Just minutes later another bird flew in with a large wad of soft plant material in her beak. The male immediately stopped singing and went to her. Then the two of them flew away together, almost certainly to deposit the material in their new nest. Although this isn’t quite as sweet a gesture as Poppa feeding Momma or a pair of birds grooming each other, it’s still a tender moment that the pair uses to strengthen their bond and make it more likely that they will be successful in their breeding efforts.