Woohoo! It's April

Finally, April is here and the first real signs of Spring migration, 2017, came with it.   Don't you love spring?

I started the month birding at yet another new place.  Thanks to Deena Mickelson, a small group gained access to the Rosemary Hill Observatory near Bronson in Levy County.  She invited the three members of the Alachua Audubon Society's Field Trip Committee to look at the property as a possible field trip site for the 2017-2018 schedule.  I had hoped to see my first migrant warblers of the year there, but it was not to be.  We had a terrific morning, watched a couple of Great Horned Owls fly around the property, and saw a good collection of birds, but none of them were particularly cooperative about posing for the camera. And there were no migrant warblers.  Deena was nice enough to share this photo of  (left to right) Rex Rowan, me, and Barbara Shea near one of the two observatories.

Rex, me, and Barbara near the observatory.  Photo by Deena Mickelson.

To tell the truth, I mark the real beginning of spring migration each year with one eagerly anticipated event - the arrival of the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the year at my backyard feeders.  This year I waited a long time.  The hummers were about two weeks later than what I've had in the past, but finally, on April 4, there it was!

There she is ... my first Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the year.  Let migration begin!

The next day (April 5) I made the trek over to Cedar Key, drooling all the way.  Surely today would bring the first batch of migrating warblers!  It started slow.  I took a photo of some White Ibises because I liked the deep red of their bills and faces.  That's a sign of breeding plumage and spring!  So, where are the warblers?

White Ibises trolling for bugs in a yard in Cedar Key.

Okay, it was starting off really poorly -

Brown-headed Cowbird.  Hey, there was nothing else to photograph!

My first stop of the morning was at the Episcopal Church.  For many years, their parking lot has been graced by the presence of a couple of gorgeous mulberry trees.  During every spring, migrating tanagers, orioles, and warblers joined the wintering Gray Catbirds in gorging themselves on the luscious fruit.  But some time since last spring the church leaders decided to prune the trees, drastically reducing the amount of fruit they could produce.  Then Hurricane Hermine came through and did additional damage.  So this year there was little fruit and almost no migrants in the parking lot.  A great birding hotspot has gone cold.

Next I drove along the road to the airport.  The small beaches had a few nice sights.  All winter long, our Willets are a pale, drab gray.  In spring, their plumage takes on some interesting patterns.

Willet finding a small snack.

Typically, our Sanderlings are also pale and gray.  Then they start getting good looking!

Sanderlings at Cedar Key

Cedar Key suffered another bout with Mother Nature this year, and the result was not good for birders.  For example, the docks on the way to the airport were always a haven for shorebirds seeking safe ground at high tide.  Hurricane Hermine wiped out nearly all of these docks leaving only scattered posts and some debris.  Gulls and terns are using the remnants, but the shorebirds have largely disappeared.

Royal Terns on posts where there used to be a dock.

One thing has remained the same.  The Brown Pelicans still find resting places near the public beach.

Brown Pelican near the public beach and tour boat docks in Cedar Key.

So, this trip to Cedar Key produced zero migrating warblers.  Will this warbler drought never end?

Not to worry ... the drought came to an end just two days later when one of the Ewing brothers found a Swainson's Warbler right there in Gainesville at the Loblolly Environmental Center!  We can go many years without seeing a Swainson's in Alachua County, so this was a great find.  I didn't get there until early the next morning, and I had myself convinced that the bird would be long gone.  But hope is the life blood of birders, so a friend and I found ourselves walking the Loblolly boardwalk looking for the marker left for us to show where the bird had been a day earlier.

Part of the boardwalk at Loblolly Environmental Center.

Almost as soon as we arrived, we saw a Prairie Warbler, the first migrating warbler of spring for me.  Here's a photo.  It's not perfectly clear, but it was a breakthrough bird.

Prairie Warbler at Loblolly

Eventually we got to the right spot, and there was the bird.  After so much work and waiting, this one was fairly easy!

Swainson's Warbler at Loblolly Environmental Center.

After seeing the Swainson's we continued along the boardwalk and added Black-and-white, Palm, and Yellow-throated Warblers to the day's list.  And just before the end of the boardwalk we found two American Redstarts.  Migration was on!

Meanwhile, back at the drip pool, I got this photo of a Gray Catbird that I really like.  How can plain gray look so beautiful?

The Gray Catbird is one of the last wintering birds to leave Florida.

On April 11, I had the opportunity to take my friend Rex Rowan out to rural Gilchrist County to visit Bell Ridge Wildlife and Environmental Area.  I wrote about this site a few weeks ago when I did a solo trek around its three-mile loop in search of Bachman's Sparrows.  I loved the place then, but I also knew it would be right in Rex's wheel house.  This is his kind of place.  I was not wrong.  We had a great time and Rex repeatedly found something to admire in the scenery as well as in the birds.

Bell Ridge WEA.  This part of the loop borders a local farm.

The wild flowers were just starting to bloom.  I don't know what kind of flower this is, but I like it.  If you know what it is, leave a comment at the end of this blog.

I love that color.

Bell Ridge is home to a large population of Red-headed Woodpeckers like this one below.

Along the way, we found my first Summer Tanager of the year.  This is a spectacular sight in a green forest!

Summer Tanagers are decked out in a vibrant red that is unlike any other.

But at Bell Ridge the star of the show is the Bachman's Sparrow.  We heard several, but for the most part they stayed hidden from us.  Finally one emerged from hiding just a few feet away and began singing.  For perhaps five minutes, it flew from bush to bush, always perching up where he could be seen.  Each time he resumed singing.  It was thrilling, reminding me once again why I'm a birder.

Bachman's Sparrow at Bell Ridge WEA.

Three days later (April 14) I was back in Cedar Key.  By that time, there were reports of neotropical migrants popping up from all over the area, so I was hopeful. Almost as soon as I arrived, I found an Eastern Kingbird.  This was a good omen.

Eastern Kingbird in Cedar Key.  

Things were quiet until I got to the museum grounds.  That's when it got better.  I never see a Yellow-throated Warbler without getting excited.  This one looked great, but kept hidden deep in a tree.  I was lucky to get this shot.

Then the day took a big leap forward.  One tree over from the Yellow-throated was a male Cape May Warbler.  They're one of my favorite warblers, and always a cause for celebration.  Just look at him!

Cape May Warbler at the museum in Cedar Key.

Then, in the next tree - Worm-eating Warbler, another highly prized migrant!  Here's a fun fact - Worm-eating Warblers live on a diet of insects and spiders.  They don't eat worms.

Look at those head stripes on the Worm-eating Warbler!

So, could it be four for four?  Three trees in a row had produced a great migrant.  Would the fourth produce another?  Well, no ... I actually had to walk about fifty yards to find another, but I can't complain.  The first half of April wrapped up with a wonderful look at an Orchard Oriole (below).  Migration is in full swing now, and in about two weeks I'll post another blog to keep you up to date.

Orchard Oriole at the museum in Cedar Key.