Spring Migration

 It starts slowly.

Horned Larks come before spring is more than a dream.

Rough-legged Hawks passing through on their way further north are the first hawks to show up in large numbers.

By the third week in March Snow Buntings have mostly departed this area for their breeding grounds near the Arctic.  However on the 24th of March this year we saw something I'd never seen before.

Snow Buntings on power lines, hundreds of them.

It was only afterwards while checking the photos that we realized there were a large number of Lapland Longspurs among the Snow Buntings.  Apparently another early migrant.

Falcons begin showing up in Saskatchewan in March, including this Taiga Merlin.

Also in March we start to see Cackling and Canada Geese.

And the early ducks such as Common Goldeneye.

By the end of the month we also see the gulls: mostly California and Ring-billed but also the occasional Herring Gull and even more occasionally other random gulls as recognized by better birders than us.

I'm really looking forward to the return of sparrows and warblers but the only early representative from these families is the American Tree Sparrow.

Every day there is the possibility of different birds. And one day there might even be warm weather.