One glimpse at Saturday night's NexRad map over Wisconsin and I knew Sunday morning was going to be good. You can see migration over Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana, but the birds were stopped in southern Wisconsin by a strong thunderstorm. Sure enough, I went from a previous high outing total of 47 bird species to 59. New birds included Brown Thrasher, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Louisiana Waterthrush, Swamp Sparrow, and more. There were major influxes of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Northern Flickers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Chipping Sparrows, and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
Link: Radar Ornithology Tutorial
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
The unseasonably warm weather (82 degrees F.) brought insect hatchings as well; I saw my first Mourning Cloak and Red Admiral butterflies of spring. This Round-lobed Hepatica was my first wildflower of the year:
© 2011 Mike McDowell