Spring Return

[Riverratpete]

Thought I'd start a post of the "Spring 06" return of the birds. they really showed back up this past weekend with the nice weather, the Downy woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Dark eyed Juncos, Northern Flickers have arrived at the feeder but haven't seen an Robins yet...anybody else got reports of new arrivals?

[Dotch]

Lotsa new ones RRP. No flickers here that I've seen but in addition to those you mention, the yard has been full of robins, grackles and red-winged blackbirds from time to time this weekend. A few pair of house finches that haven't been noticed before and chipping sparrows are back playing around in the shrubbery around the house while the killdeer are back in the field and pasture. On the pond while putting in a mallard nesting platform yesterday, scared off over 20 mallards in addition to 30+ Canada geese. They're back again today. Ice isn't out yet but they walk around on top of it and swim in the water encircling it. In the meantime, between trips to the barn, am waging war on the starlings who are eating my suet. They're getting wise to the pellet gun so may have to bring out the blunderbuss.

[buzzsaw]

Good subject!! I'll report in on the local duck scene and post pics that I took later. Friday afternoon and Sunday morning at the same "honeyhole" I saw Wood ducks, Widgeon, Bluebills, Redheads, Bufflehead, Common Mergansers. Hooded mergansers, Gadwalls, Pintails, Mallards, Blad Eagles and I'm sure other stuff I cannot remember right now.

[Steve Foss]

The winter was warm enough up here that the eagles never left. A week didn't go by all winter without seeing an eagle or two. That being said, their numbers have exploded in the last week or two. I was on a wolf shoot all weekend and just got home, and on the deer carcass we had seven eagles, five adults and two juveniles. They typically return in March to nest. I'll try for eagles on nest shots next weekend.

I'll post pics of the wolves and eagles we shot, but I've got 12 Gb of images to weed through from the 3-day shoot, so it may be awhile.

Oh, yeah, we had goldeneyes on the Shagawa River last week, a sure sign of spring's approach. And the snow is melting here at a rapid rate.

[Lake Trout]

3-12 First American Robins and Sandhill Cranes. First gobbling by Eastern Wild Turkeys this morning (3-13) during the snowstorm of all times! American Goldfinch males starting to mottle a week or so ago.

[Lunker]

Saw my first Robin on sunday. Woo Hoo spring is here!