It was less than two weeks ago that Kim and I got back from being out of the
country for a month.  We came back to extreme winter conditions in northwest
Ohio, with a foot of snow on the ground and more in the air, temperatures
that dipped below zero, and wind chills down to 20 below.  What a shock to
see the weather today and to see the first stirrings of migration.

I was out this morning between rain showers (and in 50-degree temperatures)
near the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, just off Rt. 2 at the entrance to
Magee Marsh in Ottawa County.  Like Steve in LaRue and Bill in Cincinnati, I
had Killdeers flying over, two individuals several minutes apart, calling as
they flew toward the northwest.  But they weren't the only birds on the
move.  Small flocks of Horned Larks, Lapland Longspurs, and Snow Buntings
were also flying over, also headed north by northwest.  (Because of the
configuration of the shoreline here, that's the usual direction of diurnal
migrants in early spring.)

The strong southerly winds of the last couple of days probably played a role
in the early appearance of the Killdeers here, giving an extra push to birds
already on the move in areas south of us.  But the other open-field birds
had already shown signs of movement.  Horned Larks, Lapland Longspurs, and
Snow Buntings had all been flying over in a northward direction in this
general area since the weekend.  I've seen a few American Crows moving north
as well; there's a big migration through this area in late February, and it
may be under way already.

It was inspiring to have this reminder of the fact that the Lake Erie
shoreline in northwest Ohio is one of the great migration hotspots on the
continent!  Even if the big warbler waves are still ten weeks away, there
will be action from here on out.

Kenn Kaufman
Rocky Ridge, Ohio

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