The migration that started as a trickle Sunday and Monday became a small flood on Tuesday and Wednesday. RW Blackbirds, Cm. Grackles, Cowbirds, Am. Robins, and Killdeer showed up in numerous locations across York Region. Even year-round residents like Wild Turkey, N. Cardinal, and Pileated Woodpecker were making themselves conspicuous in response to the springlike conditions. Typical of the season, a cold snap moved in right after that, stalling the migration, but there were still some interesting birds around and about at the end of the week: on Thursday morning a lingering SNOWY OWL (white adult) was easy to see against the brown soil of the Holland Marsh between Hwy. 400 and Jane St. (north side of Woodchopper's Lane). The first TURKEY VULTURE of the season was tilting northward on Bathurst St. between Aurora and Newmarket that same day, and today two more were following the same flight path at noon. This morning just north of the busy intersection at Bathurst and Davis Drive (west Newmarket), Keith Dunn found an early SONG SPARROW singing in a small cattail area, then observed another one on the northern extension of Bathurst near Queensville Sdrd. The 41 TUNDRA SWANS that were hooting their way along the frozen Holland River on Monday have not been seen since then, nor have the Snow Buntings that were in the same general area (west side of Bathurst St. North above Queensville Sdrd.), but Keith tallied ten tagged Trumpeters trumpeting tastefully on a frozen pond just south of Hwy. 9 on Dufferin Street today. Bathurst St. North was relatively quiet this morning except for a female NORTHERN HARRIER flying low over the reeds south of Hochreiter Rd.; Keith had a male there yesterday. This species has been scarce since the deep freeze that set in around mid-January. A second check of Bathurst St. North in the late afternoon yielded 50+ Canada Geese and about 200 Mallards - very common birds, but the gathering of this many Mallards suggests that they are not all birds that wintered here. Northern Pintail and other waterfowl will likely join these birds along Bathurst North as soon as temps rise and the fields flood. I have still heard no reports of Eastern Meadowlark, Great Blue Heron, American Woodcock or Eastern Phoebe in York region, but with warm weather coming (evenually), the next few weeks should yield these species and more. YORK BIRDERS who visit this website, please e-mail me some of your observations - more messages regarding birds would make for a much more comprehensive regional report - and that would be great! Ron Fleming, Newmarket All of the areas described here are in the general vicinity of Newmarket, which lies north of Toronto, about halfway to Barrie.