A bald eagle is pictured. (Scot Stewart photo)

“March is when some days are winter and some days are spring, but it’s not a smooth gradient from the beginning of the month to the end. Good thing my ducks love the merging of the two seasons.” — Jarod Kintz

March! The month has lived up to its name. Not necessarily the one expected at the end of winter, perhaps the month ahead will be one of those reverse spring months, with blustery, but mild weather at the start of the month, and a flurry of blizzards, and cold weather to wrap up the end of month and take the area into April.

Even though the birds won’t know the time of day is changing, birders and everyone else will know as daylight savings time swings back into place this Sunday morning with sunrise coming an hour later and the evening light stretching out.

While weather conditions have affected the behavior of a number of migrant species, some have been on course to return to the central Upper Peninsula close to their expected times. Picnic Rocks and the Lower Harbor in Marquette have been astir recently as large congregations of gulls have been gathering at both places the past two weeks as the season moves on. (It has been difficult to talk about “spring” recently without knowing what the next two months will bring.) Early March is the time when migrant ring-billed gulls begin their return to Picnic Rocks and are joined by lots of young herring gulls and a few wandering iceland and glaucous gulls.

The first report of a ring-billed gull sighting at Picnic Rocks came this past Monday and more appeared the following day. They haven’t traveled far, coming from open water areas to the south. Usually that means Illinois, but this year it may have been closer. Glaucous and iceland gulls have been continuing at Picnic Rocks have been sightings of over the past two weeks. Glaucous gulls in particular have put on some good shows as they have foraged near the edge of the northern most rock, visible from the Picnic Rocks main parking lot. They have been making short dives into the water in what appear attempts to grab food inches below the surface and carrying some up onto the rocks to eat. Eventually the rocks there will be occupied primarily ring-billed gulls there to nest this summer.

At the Lower Harbor, the reports have all been of herring gulls, mostly lined up to nest on Ripley’s Rock. A few other species may appear down there, especially on the old dock pilings on the north side of the ore dock, and on South Beach.

Interesting waterfowl sightings continue in Marquette. A diver, a canvasback continues in the Lower Harbor in Marquette and a dabbler, gadwall continues on the Chocolay River. In the Lower Harbor, the brief ice cover over the north half of the bay lasted only a few days with the strong south winds and the mild temperatures making quick work of it. On the Chocolay, only the increased boating activity on the river has changed things up much for the flock of mallards, Canada geese and other waterfowl on the river.

The Canada geese have created a strong presence in the area with dozens arriving in the past week. Some already appear to have laid claim to territories for the spring. Perhaps the most unusual place they have been seen is walking atop the Picnic Rocks this past week.

The open water has also made it easier for bald eagles to hunt over a much wider area in Marquette and other areas this winter too. They have been seen regularly along Lakeshore Blvd. over Mattson and Lambros Parks.

The first peregrine report of the season came last Wednesday as one returned to the west side of the new hospital off the Marquette bypass probably to lay claim to the nesting rights on the roof there this summer. Peregrines have nesting in Marquette for about the last thirteen years, first at the two powerplants in town, then moving to the hospital and a nearby cliff in the area once the power plants were removed.

The spring-like weather has made the continuing stay of robins easier in places like Marquette this month, as they have begun moving from a diet of apples, crab apples and mountain ash berries to foraging for invertebrates on the bare ground.

While they have not begun singing yet, the songs of both northern cardinals and mourning doves have become a regular feature in the morning air. The drumming of hairy and pileated woodpeckers can also be heard on many days at Presque Isle as they have begun claiming their spring territories.

Other spring activities have involved barred owls in the Marquette area. Last Saturday one, possibly a female, was heard calling at mid-day in one of Marquette’s city parks joined then by a second barred owl. They quickly mated before the male left, followed a bit later by the female. Barred owls have been seen a little more in town the past few years, although great horned owls are probably more common on the fringes of the residential areas.

Winter birds do continue in the eastern U.P. where a few snowy owls, northern shrikes and rough-legged hawks are still being seen by a large number of birders traveling to the area during the long periods of great driving weather.

Spring’s plans will be interesting to watch the next two months as it decides to continue its roller coaster run or goes directly on toward summer!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Scot Stewart is naturalist at the MooseWood Nature Center, a writer and photographer.