Slow spring

It's been a slow spring; below normal temperatures, later than recently usual snow, and a slow migration.  So a TOC walk that's usually about early warblers turned into late waterfowl instead; not anything in large numbers, except red-necked grebes, but a respectable variety.  (Only two passerine species; Yellow-rumped Warbler and Blue-headed Vireo.)

The oddest thing to me was canvasback ducks in tiny ponds.  We don't usually get a lot of canvasbacks, and we certainly don't usually get them going all mallard and claiming ponds.  But there they were, as well as rather larger numbers -- tens, not hundreds -- in the big open cells.

Canvasback ducks

The lack of leaves and generally slow migration does rather give me hope for Leamington next week, though it may well be a bring-a-scope-to-Hillman sort of time more than an interesting warblers sort of time.