Diario de wildreturn

We made our second early spring visit to Rockwoods Reservation to look for Grapevine Epimenis, but found none. However, our day was filled with lovelies. A pair of Northern Rough-winged Swallows greeted us as we drove in, as did a pair of Eastern Bluebirds. Louisiana Waterthrush were loudly calling in the creek. Yellow-throated Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Northern Parula and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were singing overhead in the trees. Prairie Trillium, Bloodroot and Phlox was peeking out of the ground. A Grayish Jumping Spider surprised us when we took a closer peak at what was moving in some leaf litter. Zebra Swallowtails, Spring Azures, Duskwing butterflies and Orange wings were on the fly, to our delight.

Immediately stepping into the park, I was greeted with enthusiasm by hoades of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Brown Creepers, Eastern Phoebes, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and a blue-sky sunny day that had quite a nip of cold to it as well as a breeze that would sneak up on me quite slap happily. Two Tiger Swallowtails flew past, as did a Angle wing butterfly of some kind. The Great Horned Owl babes were being attacked by a first year Red-tailed Hawk and defended fiercely by their Ma. Brown Thrashers lurked everywhere, pairing off, building nests. Rusty Blackbirds, to my utter delight, were still present in big numbers. Hermit Thrush were here and there, Dark-eyed Juncos still kept a small presence and a small group of Tree Swallows inspected the little lake and seemed to find it lacking, flying off. A few Purple Martins and Chimney Swifts and Barn Swallows flew about. The numerous resident birds, Titmice, Cardinals, Nuthatch, Blue Jays and others were busy with nests, included a pair of Red-tailed Hawks and Cooper's Hawks. A Snowy Egret, a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret all came by to inspect the little lake and left - too many dogwalkers and people fishing around it. Still, the day was rather quiet at the park, without many new migrants species. Will migration be a little late this year? I think I feel that way on certain days, as I run like a child to the park each day, eager to play, looking for my friends, and upon discovering they are not there, come back home pouting, hee, hee. Such a spoiled child, to have Blue-gray Gnatcatchers coming out my ears and to be sulking that the day did not include a new warbler species for the year. In contrast to being like a child, I'm also a bit like a protective mother during migration - until I've seen all the migrants coming through in decent numbers, I worry about them and how they are faring this year, frantically looking for them. (Oh, and the Bald Cypress are leafing out!)

As I walked to Carondelet Park from my house this morning, I saw Turkey Vultures, a fast flying Cooper's Hawk and heard so much bird song coming from all directions that I was overwhelmed in that wonderful exhilarating way that only hundreds of birds can rise out of me - an intense joy and rush of wanting to see all of them at once, visit with each one and ooh and ah over each visitor. Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Blue-gray Gnatcatchers were in all the trees. A Little Blue Heron had finally made an appearance for the first time this spring at our little Horseshoe Lake. Hearing a Pine Warbler singing drew me over to a tree loaded with not just kinglets and gnatcatchers, but a White-eyed Vireo and Blue-headed Vireo, a Pine Warbler and a number of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Other voices beckoned me: a Catbird in a bush, a House Wren in a thicket, a Mockingbird at the bridge, Goldfinch tittering in blooming small trees, a Paurla singing high up an oak, a Black-and-white Warbler furiously making over the trunk of a maple, a Northern Waterthrush chipping loudly and bobbing up and down in a puddle. They led me to more White-eyed Vireos, more Yellow-rumped Warblers, Chipping Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Towhees, Thrashers, Swainson's Thrush and Hermit Thrush. Swifts and Barn Swallows flew overhead across the park. Creepers were still everywhere! So were Rusties! Butterflies were on the fly all over as well! Loads of Brown-headed Cowbirds had come to visit, too. A flock of Cedar Waxwings purred overhead and landed in a sycamore. The young Great Horned Owls were being harassed by a Red-shouldered Hawk, but the parents were being super diligent in protecting them. The Red-tailed Hawks were tending the young in their pine tree nest. Phoebes were still present in small numbers. Resident woodpeckers, jays, cardinals, robins, chickadees, nuthatch and titmice were all very busy. An unusual thing for the park was a female Blue-winged Teal hiding out in one of the sinkholes. I forget what that phenomenon is where as you get closer to something, you speed up, but as we get closer to the beginning of May, every day gets so terribly exciting as more and more birds appear and come to rest a bit in the park and millions upon millions of birds stream to the north. They start as a few million in March and are now migrating in the hundreds of millions today, over 200 million according to Birdcast last night. And this is just the beginning of the acceleration of the buildup.

Oh, so much excitement has been coursing through my veins as I've stepped out of the house and taken in the visitors migrating through every day this month, more and more coming and coming. I'm too worn out to even write much. I'll just mostly attach photos for now, but since April 21st, when I last journaled, there have been some extraordinary days. On April 24, there were five Prairie Warblers in Carondelet - and those are just the ones I found. We are usually lucky to see one, if even one, in the city during migration. So many warblers have come through - Pine, Parula, Yellow-throated, Yellow-rumped, Yellow, Hooded, Orange-crowned, Black-throated Green, Black-and-white, Nashville, Tennessee, Worm-eating, Palm, Magnolia, Common Yellowthroat, Ovenbird, both Waterthrush, and American Redstart. Other folks have seen other expected warbler species, like Kentucky and Cerulean, for example, but I have not, not yet. Swainson's, Wood and Gray-cheeked Thrush, as well as Veery have now replaced the Hermit Thrush. Orchard and Baltimore Orioles are back, along with Indigo Buntings and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks! Winter Wrens are everywhere. Oh, my gosh, so many more White-eyed Vireos than I ever remember. Blue-headed Vireos, Red-eyed and Philadelphia Vireos are here - and oodles of Warbling. I've yet to see a Yellow-throated Vireo, and there were so many last year. Great Horned Owl young and their protective parents are obvious in all three city parks as the trees have not completely leafed out enough to hide them: Willmore, Carondelet and Tower Grove parks. Each couple have two babes in all three parks. Little Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons have all come in, but on one particular day, six Green Herons came to Carondelet all at once a few days ago. Still waiting on our Black and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons. Scarlet and Summer Tanagers are here. Great Crested Flycatchers have come to breed. Least Flycatchers are slowly making appearances as they make their way north. Blue-gray Gnatcatchers are building nests all over the city. Ruby-crowned Kinglets are still in massive abundance. Eastern Whip-poor-will's are back. One stopped at Tower Grove Park, to the thrill of many. An American Bittern stood all day trying to look like a reed in a small restored wildflower area in Tower Grove, too, to the ecstasy of many bird-lovers, none of whom flushed him/her, I'm proud to add. Red-breasted Nuthatches are still appearing out of the blue, delighting me, always. Lincoln's Sparrows are coming through along with Chipping, Field, Song, Swamp and White-throated, even Lark. Catbirds have returned. Flyovers of Broad-winged Hawks are occurring. Mississippi Kites will be here any day. Swifts are back in big big numbers. The swallows are all back and setting up nests - Tree, Barn, Cliff, Northern Rough-winged, Purple Martins, Bank. Rusty Blackbirds are still here, which is late for them. Many many shorebirds are continuing to pour through the area, but not many stop in the city. One Solitary was very determined to stay at Carondelet for a few days, but seems to have finally moved on. Juncos have all but disappeared. And there's more. I'm surprised I found the energy to write that much! The birds made me do it.

Today was an extraordinary day of migration for me. I've never heard a Lincoln Sparrow sing, but when I ran across one foraging in the grass, he was flushed by some men on motorcycles. While in the tree patiently waiting to come down and forage again, he SANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The thrill that ran through me was intense. He sounded like a wren, trilling and burbling and full of such such beautiful sounds. Staying with him for another half hour, I watched him get flushed a few more times, and he did the same thing! He SANG while patiently perched. Trying to record him was in vain, but the experience, well, sigh. What can be said? Ecstasy. I'm so tempted to go back and hang out some more, just to hear that incredible song. Wow. I never expected such an experience - and I'd never even heard a recorded version - since they breed far north of Missouri and only come through to migrate - and even overwinter on super rare occasions, perhaps - not sure on that.

Speaking of singing, my post from yesterday mentioned I had not yet seen a Yellow-throated Vireo this spring migration. You guessed it, I heard one singing and joyously headed his way and voila! And as I meandered through the park, I found three more! There were any other highlights, including more Yellow Warblers than I thought I could ever hear and see, but those were the two pressing observations that I just had to share immediately.