Spring’s Return: The First Arrivals

It’s that time of year when I glance out the window more often, head out for frequent walks and start driving the grids scouring open fields and roadside ponds. Day by day, birds are arriving, and I’m hardly the only one taking note.

Spring migration in Saskatchewan is nothing short of a spectacle. While driving last week, Canada Geese filled the sky, stretching as far as I could see in both directions. As an experienced birder, it was the most I’d ever seen. There was no end. Mixed in were likely Snow Geese, and perhaps a few Sandhill Cranes.

Geese are, of course, one of the biggest indicators that the thaw is underway and spring is close behind. But you might be surprised to know that there are plenty of birds that arrive just ahead of, or alongside, these early signs of the season.

Horned Larks, Snow Buntings and Rough-legged Hawks are among the first back, followed by waterfowl. By late March, more raptors arrive, along with Western Meadowlarks, Red-winged Blackbirds and Killdeer may also be seen. Songbirds start to appear not long after – notably its Yellow Rumped and Yellow Warblers, and by May, waterfowl and shorebird numbers simply soar.

A critical staging and production zone, according to Ducks Unlimited, close to 70 percent of North America’s waterfowl migrate through Saskatchewan. The province sits primarily in the Central Flyway, with its eastern edge overlapping the Mississippi Flyway, making it one of the most important migration corridors on the continent.

We don’t just get birds here; we get astounding numbers of birds, and with it, great diversity.

Here’s another fun stat for you: over 100,000 sanderlings or roughly ½ the world’s population find their way to Chaplin each year.

In my backyard, it was the melodies of returning House Finches and the ground-foraging of Dark-eyed Juncos that first put a smile on my face weeks ago. Since then, even the birds that may have wintered here such as Black-capped Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers and House Sparrows, seem more present.

This past week, I welcomed a White-breasted Nuthatch, known for its nasal, almost laughing call, which I enjoyed, a pair of Mourning Doves who love hanging out on my shed, and finally, my first American Robin of the year.

When I say others are paying attention, I mean it. In the birding groups I follow, reports started rolling in: Mountain Bluebirds in Avonlea and Craven, along with starlings, a Great Horned Owl and a Bald Eagle. Gray Partridges in Regina. Bohemian Waxwings and a Northern Harrier in Saskatoon.

Every day feels a bit like a birthday for birders this time of year.

Hearing the bluebirds had returned, usually an annual reason for me to head to Highway 99 near Craven, pushed me to make a quicker trip to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, where they also nest. Though I wasn’t lucky enough to spot one, I still saw a good variety: several murders of crows, a Ring-billed Gull, Rock Pigeons, starlings, a Merlin, magpies, Common Mergansers, a Bald Eagle, and a few distant ducks and hawks I couldn’t quite pin down.

Spring comes quietly on the prairies and birds arrive earlier than most people think. The first arrivals can be easy to miss unless you’re watching for movement rather than colour.

New birders might miss these early arrivals or assume it’s still too cold for migration to be underway. It isn’t. Now is the time to start looking. The best of migration is just about to unfold, and it’s not to be missed.

My advice? Check eBird to see what’s being spotted and where. Take a drive along the grids. Scan ponds, fencelines and the tops of power posts. Look up. Visit wetlands and don’t ignore exposed fields. Join a Saskatchewan birding group. Or reach out to those of us who live for the return of our avian friends.

But most importantly, listen. You will hear the chorus grow louder each day.

Wishing you the best of migration season.

Jenn Smith Nelson is the founder of nature-based tour company, the Wild View, and a seasoned freelance travel wildlife writer and photographer. She also co-authored 110 Nature Hot Spots in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Keen to see what’s flying in? May promises to be the peak of migration season! Check out the many different tours offered by thewildview.ca.