I'm worn out and migration is just taking off!

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.

Posted on April 28, 2022 12:50 AM by wildreturn