Yellow-rumped Warblers Feeding
I always feel that as we enter November we shift from one phase of avian life to the next. Songbird migrants are now decreasing rapidly in both abundance and diversity. More waterfowl are beginning to arrive on our shores. Our wintering species start to show up frequently at our feeders. Birds also shift from eating insects to dining on this season’s harvest, as is the case with the Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) here. Junipers, cedars, holly trees and many more all provide delicious berries that were the treats for these Halloween birds. I did not even notice I had...
Read MorePrairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor)
Here’s a Throwback Thursday to a Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor) that I photographed several years ago. The species begins to return to us in the Northeast right abouttttt…now! I hope to be able to spot one or two in migration so that I can get some better shots and enjoy their buzzy, rising song. Look for them in scrub or shrub habitat, old fields, power line cuts, or even forests – just not the prairies. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreSmell the Flowers
You should stop and smell whatever flowers you can find this weekend as glorious spring has sprouted up all around us. Take your dog for a walk, your friends for a hike, your kids for a day of birding, your partner for some gardening – whatever takes you outdoors for some time exploring. The first of those infamous spring warblers have returned, and many more are on the way, so don’t forget your Peterson Field Guide and keep your ears open, too. Let us know what you see!
Read MoreNo Migration – Until Now?
Here is an image of last night’s radar taken a little before midnight with strong and heavy avian migration occurring across the Deep South and Gulf Coast. Very few birds made it into the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, and there was no action in the Northeast. It was yet another night of poor bird movement for us, continuing a pattern and a theme that has persisted for a while this April. We have had lovely weather recently all thanks to northerly-based flows keeping air moving off the land being warmed by the sun as high pressures have been centered over the Great Lakes or Mid-Atlantic. We...
Read MoreDay Moon
We tend to think of migration as a nightly event as we enter the spring – watching birds pass in front of the moon on a clear evening, catching them on radar, hearing flight calls in the darkness or finding new faces have joined us in our yards and patches when we wake up in the morning. While we often ignore the moon shining in the bright blue sky all day we also ignore the fact many birds are flying over us then, too. Yes, we see geese and certainly are aware of hawk watches and the many raptors that use thermals, but shorebirds might be migrating nonstop over the continent, while...
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