Fox at the Feeder (and Other Spring Things)

I caught a glimpse of a larger sparrow underneath the feeder the other day.  It stood out from the juncos, goldfinches and american tree sparrows with which it was also feeding.  It was my first good sighting of a fox sparrow.  This species is relatively common as it moves through the area on migration.  Fox sparrows vary somewhat in appearance across their range and some evidence suggests that they should perhaps be split into different species.

Other signs of the change in seasons is the appearance of fresh plant life.  Coltsfoot is becoming rather common.

More and more turkey vultures are showing up.  Because of our unusually mild winter, many vultures actually stayed around.  We had 14 birds on the Christmas Bird Count back in December.  Apparently that was the first time they had ever been recorded on the Stratford count.

This merlin was sitting atop one of our trees along the edge of the farm.

A pair of wood ducks is being regularly seen at one of our ponds.  Hopefully they will hang around, the nest boxes are ready and waiting.
 The flooded patches in the fields are also attracting killdeer.  Yellowlegs should start showing up soon as well.

It will be interesting to see what shows up with the warmer weather expected next week.