Wednesday Wildlife - Spring 2014 is officially here

Not quite like the swallows of Capistrano, the return of red-winged blackbirds to SE Iowa marks the return of spring. I first spied a couple on the way to work last Friday and their mating calls this weekend at the pond was a pleasant sound during a break.

Although this picture was taken a couple of years ago, this is an example of what we have been waiting for these long weeks of what has been a harsh winter. Their return was a couple of weeks behind when we normally see them, but I gladly welcomed their singing while at the pond.

While working this past weekend, pelicans flew north with their erratic flight pattern in contrast with the numerous flocks of Canadian geese honking overhead. The pond is up a couple of feet from January and I found too many fish and more than a few frogs frozen in ice. We're hoping this winter didn't take all the fish out and it's strange that they weren't there the week before.