The weather hasn't been exactly inviting for walking, and with my granddaughter no longer simply eager to brave any conditions for the prospect of a trek, I've had to remain close to home this week. But with the homebody now at my daughter's house for a sleepover, I took advantage of the break to do some checking at various local venues for the presence of newly-arrived migrants. The nearby farm pond is always a north-bound-travelers magnet in March, and this afternoon was no exception. The Red-winged Blackbirds continue to call and set up breeding territories in the reeds, and emerging out of the vegetation came a flock of Pintail ducks, truly handsome creatures and here for a brief stay. Along the pond's muddy edge, I spotted the first of this year's migrant shorebirds, the honor of which, as usual, belonged to the Killdeer, a pair of which raced away from me as I tried to coax them back into close range. They weren't cooperating, but, since I was packing the Sigma supertelephoto, I was still able to photograph them, even if they hadn't gotten the message and were running from a photo op.