I may have caught the first signs of spring migration this afternoon when I came upon a significant flock of tree sparrows working the woods. This species has been scarce this winter, but today they were as common as the chickadees. Today I saw more tree sparrows in one bush than I have seen in total during the last three months combined! Some of the birds were also giving regular bursts of their spring courtship song.
 
It was hard fare photographing the tree sparrows today. It’s not that I couldn’t get close - that was not a problem - but that they were always behind twigs or looking the wrong way. A few of them were way up in the trees, creeping up the trees in woodpecker fashion, which I had never seen before. Some were also flocking to the road to eat grit.
 
I had no other out of the ordinary bird sightings except for a lone and very quiet Bohemian Waxwing that I found eating buckthorn fruit. These birds always fly around in large flocks that can be heard from quite a distance, so seeing this lone and quiet individual seemed unusual. There may have been more further in the bushes that I didn't see, however.