Well, a few days of mild weather was all that was needed. Red-winged Blackbirds, Grackles, and Cowbirds returned in large numbers. Canada Geese have moved north of the 401 to forage in now-exposed cornfields and check out the rapidly thawing wetlands north of Lake Ontario. Hooded Mergansers seem to exploit these openings almost instantly; they were reported from Dupont, the Cataraqui River, Wolfe Island, Elginburg, and Lower Brewer's Mills. There were 2 Pied-billed Grebes at Lower Brewer's on Wednesday and a Red-necked Grebe at Ivy Lea last Saturday. Two Wood Ducks were seen on Amherst Island last weekend. Other harbingers of spring included two Killdeer, one on Wolfe Tuesday, the other on Amherst Wednesday and two Turkey Vultures; at Ivy Lea March 10th and over Henderson Place yesterday. A Tree Swallow near Amherstview on Wednesday was indeed a welcome sight. Wild Turkey flocks have become more noticeable; there are two on Hwy 15 between Barriefield and the 401 and another on the Wilton road north of Odessa. There are still hawks and owls on Amherst; 12 Short-eared, 1 Saw-whet, and 1 Snowy Owl were seen last weekend. Environment Canada has just issued " a severe weather bulletin" so with 15 centimetres of snow on the way we'll probably see a little reverse migration and maybe spring will arrive for good next week. Cheers, Peter Good Kingston Field Naturalists 613 378-6605
