Spring arrivals

A couple of new (for this year) birds at the feeders the last few days.

First in was a horde of Chipping Sparrows on Wednesday. There must have been a dozen of the diminutive sparrows hopping around on the ground under the feeders and on the deck searching for seeds. Their brown, black and gray striping makes such excellent camouflage that they are easily missed until they move. Luckily they move...a lot.

This morning was cool and rainy so I was a little slow in getting the feeders out. I was waiting until I had my breakfast but the birds were impatient. The Blue Jays were holding a confab on the lawn tray feeder. They were probably planning how to storm the house. The Goldfinches, arrayed in their Sun God uniforms, were flitting around the front deck and peering in at me wondering where were the morning offerings. Black-capped Chickadees were doing the same in a slightly more vocal demonstration.

Suddenly, two birds appeared we had not seen since last fall. Two female Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks were sitting on the deck rail and post looking for a handout. They are half again as large as the female purple and house finches, have a distinct white wing bar and a positively huge light colored beak. Both Terry and I realized they were "different" as soon as we saw them.

Other birds have made their presence known in one way or another. The clear "drink-your-tea" of the Eastern Towhee sounds out from the woods (between the turkey gobbles and clucks). I even heard a "poor-Sam-Peabody-Peabody-Peabody" of a White-throated Sparrow the other day. The call of the Wood Thrush can be heard in the early morning and evening. Unfortunately, two of these lovely birds crashed into the kitchen window last week. Both were DOA. Something must have flushed them and they, being used to darting among the dark trees of the woods, thought to enter the house and avoid what ever it was.

From reports I've seen, there are more and more warblers showing up in the area. Tomorrow's walk at Hills Creek SP could be interesting. I'll have to brush up on my bird songs.