The Spring migration has started. Waterfowl are moving north. Any open water body is a magnet to these birds.
Each year, the birds push forward in their migration. They seek areas that have started thawing. My local lake has aerators running throughout the winter to add oxygen to the water. In doing so, a couple of small places within the lake remain ice-free. Artesian springs along or in a water body maintain open water. Streams begin to open up as snowmelt runs off the land.
Sometimes the birds arrive as individuals, sometimes as pairs, and sometimes as large flocks that may or may not contain intermixed species.
Now is a great time to go out to your local pond, lake, or wetland and look for waterfowl. I encourage you to really spend time sorting through the flocks to see how many species you can identify. My count for the weekend was 17 species. So, grab your binoculars/scope and bird book and enjoy the adventure.
Great way to spend early spring. Thanks for sharing..so beautiful
Thank you Sue. I hope you have been able to get out and walk the trails around you.
Great post. We all need to get out and enjoy the wild things. Love it.
Tom, this would be a great time to take your grandchildren out to Swan Lake and scope ducks from the fishing deck.
Hi Stan,
I saw a large flock of Trumpeter Swans today on I 35 North of Story City…..probably 2 dozen. Usually I have seen them in smaller groups
That is a nice sighting Todd. I had 17 swans in front of me last week. One group was on the water when I arrived. Another flock came in about 1 1/2 hours later. It was fun to watch them interacting.
Thanks for sharing the migration. It is always exciting.