Eastern Phoebe in Winter?

Today was sunny, gorgeous, no wind, 36 degrees Fahrenheit. My husband and I spent the entire day outside shoveling the 30+ inches of snow we got from the recent blizzard off of our driveway. Many, many birds were out singing! We heard the usuals - chickadees, cardinals, blue jays, northern flicker, downy woodpecker, robins (yes, robins seem to spend the winter and spring here and then are gone for the summer) and a red shouldered hawk. But we both heard separately and then together an Eastern Phoebe! The last I remember hearing a phoebe was in October or November.

Is it possible they are still around and I haven't heard them because I haven't been spending time outdoors since then? Phoebes are flycatchers, though, which means they eat insects. Besides a few days in early December when moths and flies were active, it has been too cold for insects. My birding books state that phoebes spend summers in this area.

So why would a phoebe (or phoebes) be in the area now, after a blizzard? I checked eBird and so far there are no reports of them spotted in the state. Curious!

Where Are the Birds?

We had an early start to spring which means an early season of hatching and growth of insects as well as plants. The robins were here in numbers early, as were the phoebes, and many of the winter visitors to feeders must be concentrating on the insects for food. I haven't seen a titmouse, nuthatch, woodpecker or flicker in weeks and a single chickadee appears once in a while. The house sparrows and house finches are still regulars though. I haven't seen the juncos in a few days, so I guess they finally headed north. But I am still waiting for the arrival of the wrens, cat birds, mockingbirds and Baltimore oriole.