So, earlier today, we put up a post on our Facebook page saying that we were excited to see the Swainson's Hawks arrive in the Central Valley this spring as part of their annual migration. And we got a lot of comments from people who say they're already seeing them. So we looked at the eBird (*see note below about eBird) map from last month and, sure enough, they were really starting to show last month. Certainly when compared with January. But, as you'll see in the map from March, they're not being seen in great numbers yet. And when you look at the maps from last year, it really shows that we'll see a gradual increase this month, and then an explosion in April. Can't wait. See the maps below for more details. (photo by USFWS)

Here's the eBird map from January of this year, showing a few sightings, but not a ton:

Now look at February, definitely growing:

But if you look at the most current map, showing the first week or so of March, you'll see that we're still not seeing them in great numbers:

But look at March of last year. Obviously, the numbers grew as that month wore on:

And then look at April 2011. They're everywhere:

* A word about eBird: If you haven't checked out eBird yet, by all means do so. Here's the California portal to the system, and it's got a little more functionality than the regular one. It includes our Important Bird Areas, and a few others fun things. But either way, eBird has some amazing features -- and the mapping that we're using for these posts is just one of them.