I find it hard to believe that we are rapidly approaching the 2013 osprey season already! But it's true! They are on the way back to their territories. Last year was so warm in March that we did have some very early sightings in mid month...but most returned at the normal time beginning in late March. With all the snow and frozen lakes, I expect they may begin to show up in the last week of March. Of course since ospreys migrate to south  and central america, they begin their migration north as a result of hormonal changes, not in response to weather.  I believe that if they encounter snow and frozen lakes, making fishing impossible, they slow down and hang out in states south of here until things begin to open up. So weather may affect the final leg of their migration. In my 20 years of studying these birds I have seen the occasional early return...and it may be that they return to briefly check their nesting territory and then seek out open, fishable waters to wait for lakes to open. This may explain an early sighting followed by a period of no activity at a nest. The population continues to grow in the metro area and, as always, I can use help monitoring these nests, and hope that new nests and behavioral observations will be reported to me at osprey.mn@att.net. or osprey.mn@gmail.com.  Thanks again to all who helped me last year, and I look forward to hearing from you all again soon! I couldn't do it without you!