| Jay, We've seen random geese flying north but not big flocks....just a dozen or two here or there. This week, mallard ducks showed up and have been staying on our big pond. Since March is a mere three weeks away, I expect the purple martins are making their way up through Texas too but I haven't checked the Martin Watch website lately to see. Some years we see the scout birds here as early as mid-February. I am seeing more song birds daily but am not sure if the migration is on or if they are just coming for the bird feeders. The American Goldfinches haven't left yet and they usually leave our house between mid- and late-Feb. so we'll know soon if they are going to head north 'on time' or not. It is cold and it is raining, but I still think this will be a little wimp of a storm compared to what we had in Dec. and Jan. The bird activity in the yard on the native berry bushes and at the feeders and birdbaths was higher than normal today, but not the huge numbers of birds we had in December. I'm hoping the worst of the winter weather is behind us. I am so ready to get out into the yard and do somsething---but even the wildflowers that normally bloom in January and February have barely begun to show themselves. I haven't seen a single hatching grasshopper yet and that's a good sign. When they are hatching in Jan. and Feb. that means we'll have a lot of damage from them so not seeing any hatching early can only be good news. On the other hand, there's so many birds here that maybe they are eating the grasshoppers as they hatch. Dawn | 
