Ospreys at Bennington Lake

They are back!  There was one osprey circling the lake calling, and one sitting on a snag looking very haggard from the long trip.  There still isn't much water in the lake, but there were ducks galore today – 88 American wigeons, 7 mallards, 8 canada geese, 1 gadwall, 1 bufflehead, 1 redhead, 10 green-winged teal and 9 northern shovelers.  There were also shorebirds – 2 greater yellowlegs, 1 dunlin and 5 killdeer.  A pair of tree swallows was sitting on one of the nest boxes and there were lots of violet-green swallows.  One actually posed for us.  A Townsend's solitaire was flycatching by the bench on the east side of the lake and an adult bald eagle flew over.  The northern harrier pair put on aerial displays and were joined by a young male northern harrier and a red-tailed hawk at one point.  The elusive great horned owls were just that – not to be found today.  We saw 33 species today.  Hopefully this is the beginning of spring migration.  Ginger