Despite the well below average temperatures we had last week, there were some new signs of Spring in and around St. John's.
This Black-headed Gull is well on the way to developing a full hood:
On Saturday I noticed an emergence of insects in Quidi Vidi gut...
...which attracted many robins into the area.
These are over-wintering robins, not spring arrivals! Still need to wait a couple weeks before migrating robins from further South will arrive.
Over the last few years or more, Great Cormorants have ventured into freshwater areas of St. John's in the early Spring. During a warm spell in January they were already noted on many of the inland freshwater ponds. Last week I saw several flying up and down Rennies river, but I wasn't expecting to see 4 swimming and roosting on the river behind my house this morning. Even more surprising was that they were still there at the end of the day:
Another sign of Spring is that Kittiwakes have finally been reported from the Avalon. I spent a fair bit of time looking for them in the last week of February and first week of March - which is when they usually start arriving - without seeing any. The first sighting of Kittiwakes trickling in was on Friday... they must be a daily occurrence at Cape Spear now.
Who will see the first Gannets of the season? Could be in less than 2 weeks!
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If you haven't heard of the Arctic Warbler that was found in Bermuda, you should read this article:
http://birdingfrontiers.com/2014/03/10/bermuda-phylloscopus-final-chapter/
A phenomenal record - but it could just as well happen here...
