Word of the day "Snow bird"

This morning I noticed that the Merriam Webster online word of the day is "snow bird" , quite an appropriate term right now for any states located in the "Sunbelt" region of the country.

Merriam Webster defines snowbird as
1. any of several birds seen chiefly in winter
2. one who travels to warm climates for winter

Seems that snowbirds (the human snowbird that migrates South for winter) have been around since 1900. The term was first used to describe men who enlisted in the armed forces to get food and clothing in the winter months and then deserted as the warm Spring weather approached.

In the past two weeks I've really noticed the influx of snow birds in Tucson. Traffic is starting to get heavier and I've seen license plates from everywhere but California, Nevada, New Mexico,Utah and Florida. Every rental property in SaddleBrooke and Sun City is reserved for the next four months and lines are much longer at the grocery stores. We'll continue to see this until April when Tucson's temperature start to pick up and everyone heads back to their homes for summer.