April welcomes the first waves of migrating birds, in anticipation of May
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| Fox sparrow/Gary Meszaros |
Spring’s
arrival at the end of another long, cold Northeast Ohio winter brings
a botanical awakening and the welcome appearance of short-distance
migrants.
As
winter visitors such as dark-eyed juncos and tree sparrows depart
for Northern nesting grounds, they are being replaced by part-time
migrants such as white-throated and white-crowned sparrows, as well
as fox and Lincoln’s sparrows, and local nesters such as chipping,
song and swamp sparrows, and Eastern towhees.
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| Chipping sparrow/Gary Meszaros |
On
warm, breezy days, the skies can become filled with migrating raptors
and waterfowl.
Rainy
evenings often trigger a cacophony of spring peepers, chorus and wood
frogs, and a mass trek of frogs, toads and salamanders lured to
vernal pools for breeding.
At
dusk, American woodcocks can be heard calling from fields where they
flock together to engage in aerial mating dances. In marshy habitats,
Wilson’s snipe perform similar displays.
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| Brown thrasher/Chuck Slusarczyk Jr. |
A
walk through our area parks, forests and meadows often can provide a
visually stunning experience. A panorama of blossoming spice bush
paints a broad swath of vivid yellow through the woodland understory.
The leaf litter of fall suddenly is coming alive with newly emerged
trout lilies and ramps forming a bright green carpet.
The
weeks prior to May’s explosion of growth provides ideal birding
opportunities courtesy of the bare, leafless trees and shrubs. Listen
closely, and you’re likely to hear the telltale songs of Eastern
phoebe, golden- and ruby-crowned kinglets, blue gray gnatcatchers,
and brown creepers. Hermit thrush and brown thrashers have begun to
return, and Swainson’s, wood and gray-cheeked thrush will soon
follow.
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| Broad-winged hawk |
Northern
flickers and yellow-bellied sapsuckers have returned, joining the
year-round resident woodpeckers in a chorus of junglelike calls and
drilling echoing through the woodlands. Our familiar backyard feeder
birds, American goldfinches and house finches, are molting into their
bright breeding plumages.
With
patience and a little luck you could spot a Virginia rail, a
secretive marsh species that recently made appearances at the Sandy
Ridge Reservation in North Ridgeville, the Mentor Marsh and the ponds
at the Ohio & Erie Canal Reservation in Cuyahoga Heights. Other
stunningly plumed birds there include wood ducks, hooded mergansers
and great egrets.
Our
beloved bald eagles are experiencing another successful breeding
season, and usually can be observed either on or near their nests,
incubating eggs or feeding hungry chicks at more than a half-dozen
locations in the area.
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| Bald eagle/Karen Lakus |
It’s happenin’ here in the Philly area, too. Good Birding!!
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I'm very glad to see that "Aerial View" is still soaring!
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