While on Wolfe Island at Kingston Jan. 21 I encountered a flock of 13 Horned Larks. All were Prairie migrants, not overwintering Northerns which have been with us since the fall. This is the earliest I have ever had migrant Horned Larks in Eastern Ontario, with mid-February when I would usually expect early birds to appear. Often it is the third week of the month. This past week Horned Larks have appeared in other locations including a very large flock outside Thunder Bay, extremely early for that sized movement up there. At least some were Prairies. I would expect early movements to occur in Southwestern Ontario, often two weeks before birds here in the East but I am very surprised about the other locations. Horned Lark movements are not governed so much by temperatures but by the progression of the sun. We can have -15C days in February with birds moving in, and that was the case last week. Yes, warmer sunny days will bring more birds but these have moved despite cold conditions. Has anyone else similar observations? I do not see this being related to an 'early spring', especially coming off brutal midwinter conditions. Regardless of what the weather is in the days ahead, they were on the move before this happened. Brian Morin Cornwall