It has begun. A week ago I thought we'd be closer to next weekend but today's southwest wind and 16oC temperature was enough to shake up a small flock of 4-500 from the multitude that has gathered south of Kingston in western New York. The birds stopped just north of Hwy 401 at the Ingleside exit late in the day as rain began. In the early days of the migration, sites from Cardinal to Iroquois and Morrisburg can be productive. The best areas on the St. Lawrence are those with an ice edge for the birds to get out of the water. Significant melting in the last two days with more to come has opened up enough ground for the birds to find some corn stubble. They do not feed along the river. Brian Morin