Variety is the spice of life….so I’m told. And today we got a taste of it. Eight new arrivals were discovered in the course of the morning: Osprey, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Fox Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Rusty Blackbird. For the day our species count was the highest yet at 57….getting close to that magical 60 plateau. We didn’t get a lot of these birds, mostly just ones and twos, but the important thing is that we got them, indicating that the migration is shifting up a gear.


While most birds are migrating, some are already well into their nesting cycle. For many years we’ve had a pair of Killdeer nesting in the gravel at the back of the parking lot. We noticed though that the gravel was being overtaken by grass and we were afraid that the Killdeer would move into the main part of the lot, exposing themselves to traffic – we can block off the back of the parking lot but not the whole thing. So we artfully laid down some gravel circles, studding them with larger stones to try to attract the birds. And it worked! I discovered that the birds had made one of the circles home and have 3 eggs on the go. If you want to take pictures, great!….but take them from a distance please. That’s why they make telephoto lenses….

Chorus Frogs have been producing a din for a couple of days now. Snakes are emerging. As are butterflies. But the most noticeable emergence is that of the midges. They’re everywhere and thick! I saw a swarm that I paced off – over 20 meters long. Think of them as tiny winged bird-feeding meatballs. They’re a very timely food source at this time of year, fueling the early migrants, keeping them alive and on the move.

Banded 26:
1 Tree Swallow
1 Blue Jay
1 Eastern Bluebird
3 American Robins
2 Northern Cardinal
2 Chipping Sparrows
1 Field Sparrow
1 Fox Sparrow
2 Song Sparrows
1 Swamp Sparrow
3 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 Brown-headed Cowbirds
6 American Goldfinches

Species Count: 57 spp.
Rick