As the weather changes into spring, there is starting to be more bird movement.

Jefferson resident and Carroll County Conservation Naturalist Matt Wetrich says lots of non-water fowl birds are making their appearance in Iowa and Jefferson, including one popular kind of bird.

“Red-winged Blackbirds. Sometimes they show up in huge flocks like thousands and thousands, like a big cloud of blackbirds, we call them a murmuration. So that’s a good indicator that it’s spring. We’ll see them sort of peeling off and setting up their own little shops, and the males will be singing from the roadside ditches and that good stuff.”

Wetrich says other non-water fowl birds during this time of year include the Red Tailed Hawk and more American Robins. He points out even the year round birds, such as some robins and cardinals will begin to change their behaviors with the changing of the seasons.

“That’s what’s kind of fun about it is seeing things that are here all the time (and) start to notice a little bit difference in the behavior. So if you kind of just start paying attention to what’s around your yard, that’s fun to just see kind of some evolution throughout the seasons and how they behave.”

Wetrich encourages everyone to spend some time outdoors bird watching as a way to socially distance yourself from others and enjoy a growing outdoor activity.