"'Is the spring coming?' he said. 'What is it like?' … 'It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine, and things pushing up and working under the earth.'"
— Frances Hodgson Burnett
It seems early only on account of the wintery blast we got last week, but the Yellow-rumped Warblers are right on time. Spring has been working its magic beneath the snow ― grass is considerably greener in the areas where it's melted away. Also new for me for the spring was Golden-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Phoebe, and Carolina Wren. There was a detectable uptick in Fox Sparrows, but my first of the year was back in early January. And Song Sparrows — they were everywhere!
The Pheasant Branch creek corridor trail had been closed for a couple of months as the new bridges were finally installed. You may recall The Great Flood of 2018. The new bridges won't withstand a nuclear bomb or asteroid collision, but they'll likely endure another flood of that scale. They're much larger than I thought they would be, but the commuter trail must go on.
Another one closer to Century Avenue ...
And bank stabilization north of Century Avenue ...
Though the corridor is more open than I've ever seen it in the over 30 years I've birded it, I'm sure there will be plenty of migratory birds returning come April and May. For sure, not the numbers that were observed back in the 80s or 90s, but I'll take whatever I can find.
A warming trend is on the way and it might be enough to entice tiger beetles to emerge, but the forecast is calling for rain as well, so that might put a damper on finding Oblique-lined at Spring Green Prairie tomorrow. Ah well, I might just go out there anyway. If nothing else, it's a good hike.
Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor
Mar 30, 2023 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
39 species
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Hooded Merganser
Wild Turkey
Mourning Dove
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Golden-crowned Kinglet
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Finch
American Goldfinch
American Tree Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
All images © 2023 Mike McDowell