Not so quiet anymore

Hi all. There's definitely signs of spring in the air. So far, last weekend I noticed 1 Killdeer flying above, but this was up in Ramsey.
Yesterday at the center, we had a nice vocal Red-Winged Blackbird visiting. That's the 1st one I have seen thus far. Also, there was 1 Painted Turtle already out of hibernation basking in the sun on a floating log. That was surprising. I did not expect to see a turtle this early. I am still waiting for my Robins to show up. Last year they were 1 week early and arrived on Feb.29th of '08. I haven't seen any yet this week.
Overall, I have noticed an increase in songbirds, such as an increase of Sparrows (who are currently building a nest in my AC unit), flocks of Starlings and Blackbirds. I saw one rather large flock of Crows yesterday over Dumont. There had to be about 25 of them.
I am attempting to keep an eye out for any migrator dcuks, but we haven't had much luck with them at the center the past couple of years. Only one Common Merganser was seen last spring. It's a bit early, but I will keep an eye out for our resident muskrat too. He/she should be popping out soon.
One family have been fishing already, even with a small patch of ice on the pond, and they landed a few Bluegills already.
So, the critters are stirring and slowy arriving back into the area. I will post anything new I obvserve over the course of this upcoming week.
Take care all everyone!
~Anthony