Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
This Blue-gray Gnatcatcher was actively feeding at a migratory stopover site, enjoying a bounty of April insects on its way to the north. These little gals and guys are so flashy for such a tiny creature, showing that bright white eye ring and the white edges of their tail to help get that food moving into their target range. I have always had an affection for the species and their wheezing ways, with their call sounding so nasal and almost asthmatic, an affliction I share in the spring. Watch for them at any time at this part of the year – literally – as the unique species is at...
Read MoreOsprey Nest Building
Here’s a pair of Ospreys hard at work on building their rapidly-growing nest at the Clay Ponds Wildlife Management Area. It won’t be long before we see incubation in this huge, finely-crafted home, but it may have to wait for some cold temperatures and a snowflake or two…
Read MoreRarities on the Wing
I took this screenshot late this morning via this always helpful and very cool wind map. They use surface wind data from the National Digital Forecast Database, updated hourly, to create this national flow of air. Even without it in motion you can see there is a huge trough in the east, with winds shooting down from the northwest until you get to about Chicago, at which point the bend brings them screaming out of the south and then the east higher into New England. All of this unsettled weather can easily push avian migrants out of their chosen path, bringing southern resident rarities up to...
Read MoreApril Sky
It is such an underrated thrill to have more frequently clear, dynamic and vivid cirrus skies instead of stratus this and that with inclement, blah-type weather. Be sure to always look up – you may end up seeing some of our atmosphere’s beauty, not to mention all sorts of birds, butterflies, dragonflies flying by and more that you may never have noticed in front of you. They are all about to arrive and emerge. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MorePalm Warblers Arriving
After the Pines come the Palms, and we now have some tail-wagging Palm Warbler friends filling up our farm fields, grasslands, and other open areas. It is only a week or two until the avian migrant floodgates open! Hard to believe it is that time already…what species are you most looking forward to seeing or adding to your life list? I have said it before, but I mean it this time – crack open those Peterson Field Guides and get your study on now! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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