Fred and Ethel, our resident mallards, flew in Sunday (3/29) afternoon at about 2:45 p.m. They've been coming every spring for seventeen years. Or maybe it's their kids or grandkids who are now stopping by. Without having banded our original pair, there's no way to be sure. I just know we start watching for them as soon as the ice begins to melt on the pond. The ducks are also my primary phenology sign as I've noted the date of their arrival every year since 1998. The earliest they ever showed up was 3/06 (in 2000 and 2004) and 4/04 was the latest (2013).
Last Friday (3/27) was the first day the pond was completely ice free during the day. We think the pond froze solid this winter because we kept having a sheet of ice no matter how much melted. You could see it rising like a big irregular ice cube as the days went by. But open water and ducks means that Spring has officially arrived at our house.