There is no doubt about it now, we are well on the road to spring bird activity. We will have unsettled weather for the rest of the month but the trend has been broken and birds will take full advantage of it.
In the past few weeks, a small movement of Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls brought new visitors to some feeders. We can also be on the lookout for early Song Sparrows which will entertain us with a welcome spring melody. Open fields and rural roadsides have had a sprinkling of migrant Horned Larks and small flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds should arrive by mid-month. Then there are the Robins. This year it will be impossible to tell which birds have just arrived and which have been with us all winter so watch for an increase in numbers.
Waterfowl, especially divers have already shown an increase and Ring-billed Gulls are appearing on waterfronts and in the parking lots of fast food restaurants. That is a sure sign of spring.
Happy Birding!
By Brian Morin
Publisher of Ontario Birding News
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