In the Midst of Migration

Reports all over the upper midwest have shown that the spring migration is underway! After going an entire winter seeing the same species of wildlife, it's exciting to see the migrants sweeping north. Just yesterday I saw bluebirds and robins as well as ring-necked ducks, goldeneye, bufflehead, hooded merganser, american kestrel and various hawk species that I could not identify.

Whats interesting about seeing this waterfowl is that all of the lakes and ponds are still frozen. But with all the snow we got this winter, there is massive flooding. Bridges are closed and my commutes is much longer because of it. But there is also flood ponds all over the place. These flood ponds are the only open pools of water and thus the waterfowl has been attracted to those areas.

This week I also saw both sandhill cranes and great blue herons in a snow storm. Probably not what they were expecting when they decided to head north. I'm still waiting for my first loon of the season. I think we will need actual lakes to thaw before I see that. So until then, I'm still waiting for spring to officially arrive!