They call this spring?

I was so glad that I finally got out for a few hours on 15 April 2018, joining a group of friends on a birding trip SE of the city. It was a cloudy day, but beautiful. Deep snow everywhere - no one would ever think this was spring. Several of us stayed back at the gravel road while the rest crossed the snowy field. The deep snow had a crust on the top and you never knew when you would plunge through, up to your knees. After a few steps, this happened to me and after difficulty to turn myself round, I returned to the road. Snow with a crust is my least favourite surface to walk on.

Though plenty of species were seen, almost all were far, far away and totally out of camera range. However, we did find Great Horned Owls at three different locations, which was great - one in a tree, another on a nest, and this one in a barn. Happily, the second car spotted it and caught our attention. Any day when an owl is seen is a GOOD day : )

Wow, has our weather taken a turn for the better! This afternoon, the temperature is supposed to get up to 14C and for the coming week, between 15C and 21C! This should get rid of any snow that is still on the ground. To the south of us, snow melt has caused flooding of fields and roads, unfortunately.