A first on Friday.

Konk-a-reeee! First male Red-winged Blackbird singing this year. All alone, with no one to flash his lesser wing coverts at.

Red-wings are resident on the south coast of British Columbia (some of them spend the winter here), but starting about now there is a general movement northward. This singing bird may be from slightly south of here and is in transit. He has found a patch of cat-tails that has never known a breeding pair of red-wings. (Before last year, there were no cat-tails here; this is the man-made pond in Garden City Community Park, Richmond.) It will be interesting to see what birds nest in this relatively small area as the emergent vegetation takes hold.

In the meantime, it's good to hear that sound of spring. Konk-a-reeee!