Porcupine's & Partridge

Well, it sure looks like Spring has finally sprung !
This is the time of year when the snow melts, everything turns to slush and the birds seem to get louder & louder first thing in the morning.
I've had a nice couple of days birding over the weekend and again on Monday.
Saturday I spent a couple of hours hiking around the riverbank , walking even further than I usually do, and ending up right near Circle Bridge where I flushed 3 Gray Partridge from the side of a hill as I looked down at the cracking ice that would soon disappear and merge into the waters of the South Saskatchewan River.
On the way back I watched as 3 American Crows ( early arrivals maybe ) were mobbing an adult Bald Eagle near the Weir. It appeared to be eating a large fish high up in the confines of a tree and then soon took off down towards Goose Island . It was way too far for a decent photo unfortunately.
Another highlight was a lone Common Merganser and 3 Canada Geese on the water.
On Sunday my Wife and I went for a little afternoon drive and happened upon 2 Porcupines both in the area of Patience Lake . One was on the ground eating thawed out grass and another was stripping bark from a tree about 20ft up.
We also saw an adult Northern Goshawk and a few newly arrived Horned Larks along the roadside.
On Monday I went out with a friend and we too saw a Northern Goshawk close to Blackstrap Lake that made a very fast swoop across the road in front of us, 18 more Gray Partridge , 70+ Horned Larks , a pair of Great Horned Owls and 3 Canada Geese flying over the old Regina Highway.

Here are some new photos :

Porcupine - The one on the ground looks like it was fairly young . While the other one paused from its chewing to peek at me from behind the tree branch :





Gray Partridge - I managed to catch this flighty bird in full stride before it took off :