"A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us."
― Henri J.M. Nouwen
As the front moved eastward, this time winds were out of the southeast, which lit up NEXRAD like so:
There, you see? There are still millions of birds. Given the slight angle shift in wind, my guess yesterday was that this would render better birding today ― and did it ever!
Promise! I could tell upon arrival at the Pheasant Branch creek corridor that many new arrivals were present. I immediately detected songs of Chestnut-sided Warblers, Magnolia Warblers, Blackburnian, Golden-winged, Blue-winged, Ovenbirds, and more. Woo hoo!
There were still many Yellow-rumps and Palms.
As amazing as this day was, I'll tell you what's different. When I first began birding, it wasn't uncommon for me to get several back-to-back twenty-plus warbler species mornings at the Pheasant Branch creek corridor. These days I consider myself fortunate to get just one during May, and that happened today. So, walkity-walk up and down the trail looking for new species for hours on end.
As fate would have it, I ran into some old birder friends, and some not-so-nice ex-friends. That's one of the things I actually don't like about this time of year ― faces from the past from bridges I've burned. But as they say, may the bridges I burn light my way. Anyway, there may have been some missed species, but I commented to another birder that I felt like I was beginning to recognize individual Nashville Warblers, and called it a day. Of course, not long after I left somebody found a Prothonotary Warbler. No worries. I'm sure to get one before the month is over.
Middleton Area, Dane, Wisconsin, US
May 9th, 2022
88 species
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Wild Turkey
Mourning Dove
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Least Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Ring-billed Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
House Wren
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Golden-winged Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Canada Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
All images © 2022 Mike McDowell