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Thursday, May 5, 2011

Let the Migration Begin... In Earnest This Time

Spring may have finally arrived after plenty of spits and stutters.  Recurring April snowfalls and the fact that we haven't hit 70 at my house yet this year are making this a very difficult spring.  So leave it to the birds to get me out of my winter doldrums. This morning a very nice wave of warblers greeted me as I checked on the feeders.  The most exuberant singers were the Palm Warblers -

Palm Warbler in a brush pile at Blackwater this morning.
Yellow-rumped Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, Nashville Warblers, Black-and-White Warblers, and Northern Parulas could also be heard singing this morning.  One Orange-crowned Warbler was quite interested in the fuss I was making around our pontoon and decided to check things out (it was likely interested in the insects I was kicking up).  This warbler came in so close my camera couldn't focus on him for a while - here is a shot that even shows the orange crown a feature not often seen.  You may need to click the image to get the larger version to see the orange in the crown.

Orange-crowned Warbler - checkin' me out!




Saturday, April 16, 2011

This Snow is for the Birds

2-3" of snow overnight made for easy spotting of the numerous sparrows hanging around the yard this morning.  Most numerous were the FOX SPARROW'S - the highest single point count I got was 42, but my guess is we had up to 100 in the yard at any one time.  They were everywhere. 

Fox Sparrow as seen this morning on the fresh snow.

American Tree Sparrow with Fox Sparrows in background


Here is a list of the other birds observed from the living room this morning:

AMERICAN TREE SPARROW
DARK-EYED JUNCO
SONG SPARROW
PINE SISKIN
PURPLE FINCH
COMMON REDPOLL
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
NORTHERN FLICKER
HAIRY WOODPECKER
DOWNY WOODPECKER
RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD
AMERICAN CROW
WOOD DUCK
MALLARD
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE