Back to Minnesota … back to Winter, or is it Spring?

This morning I drove over to visit the Wisconsin State Hwy #13 grasslands near Cloverland and the Roy Johnson Mitigation Wetlands. Given none of the lakes or area ponds are ice free, and the fact that one could still find snow in the deep reaches of the forests, I had low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised to find an area that was thinking Spring might be around the corner.

Canada Geese and Trumpeter Swans were finding minuscule openings of water to stage, and a few early migrants … mainly red-winged blackbirds, robins and American Kestrels were present in reasonable numbers. Early arrivals of other grassland birds were not yet present.

Still lingering in the area were Rough-Legged Hawks like the one pictured below as it waited for more favorable weather and southerly winds to push northward. When I return home I found a few Goldfinches starting to wear their summer plumage.

Transitions …