Late little winter

After an incredibly mild January and February, it was a given that we would get some winter as soon as spring sports came into season, and while the one storm didn't live up to the predictions (locally, at least), it ushered in what now feels like a regular old North Dakota winter-to-spring transition.

March is maybe the month which feels the longest in regard to birding. Part of that is owed to the fact that I don't really want to put in the miles required for 'productive' winter birding, and part of it is knowing how close we are to the glorious months of April and May.

Since coming home from the cities, I've been down to the park a few times, feeding the Canadas and checking the river for migrating ducks and geese. I've also been keeping the backyard feeders stocked. Our little winter 'storm' did bring a nice surge of activity.

Another morning at the park:

To close out March, I walked over to the Bois de Sioux Adventure Area, a little wooded elbow of the Bois de Sioux, and completed my first checklist without a camera in years. It was nice to be out with just binoculars and a notepad and not having to lug a heavy lens around. There were a fair number of resident species about. Plus, I got to stand right inside a little group of Golden-crowned Kinglets.

State Hockey and Some Birding

Another season of Minnesota high school hockey has concluded. I made a short stop at the Riverside Waterfowl Sanctuary in Fergus Falls on my way to the cities to watch some of games of the state tournament and hang out with family. The sanctuary was mildly full of Canadas. There were a few goldeneyes (all of the common sort). The rest were your usual year-round species of the upper Midwest.

I arrived in the cities to catch the last AA quarterfinal and the next morning hit the paved trail of the Kane Meadows Open Space in Blaine. Here again were a few migrating waterfowl among an expected cast.

A good deal of hockey later, I started home, making a pitstop at the Saint John's Abbey Arboretum. I look forward to going there again. Conveniently just off interstate with a nice mix of water and little wooded pockets.

I then drove by the sewage lagoons in Breckenridge before arriving back home. The water was still partially frozen, so my only sighting was a few horned larks hanging out on the rocks. Now, I'm hoping to do a good bit of local waterfowl spotting before the migratory sparrows and warblers start making their way through the upper Midwest.

Early Spring

It's been an unbelievably warm winter, and spring seems (fingers crossed, knocking on wood, etc.) to be on its way in. While planning for the big summer trips, I've been getting out for fresh air and local wildlife.