Máistir Nádúraí: It was a wet, dark and gloomy day ...

"You can't escape the thoughts on a rainy day: In the spirit of the gloom there is a talisman that keeps people from having fun and invites them to the world of thoughts!"

― Mehmet Murat ildan

I found 20 warbler species at the Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor both Saturday and Sunday. New arrivals were an uptick in Canada Warblers, Magnolias, and my first Mourning Warbler of spring. I also found a single Bay-breasted Warbler, which brought my 2023 warbler count to 30 species. Another newly arrived migrant was a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher ― detected via McDowell's Birdar ™ by its repeated tuwee calls.

As 2023's spring migration's waves peak and wane, it's also interesting to note what's no longer being observed. Gone are Pines, Palms, and most of the Yellow-rumps. Black-throated Greens are mostly through. Naturally, species specific stragglers pulling up the rear might still be found, but eventually Pheasant Branch will be left with Redstarts, Yellows, and Common Yellowthroats by early June. It all goes too quickly. The boreal sparrows are pretty well gone as well. It's been a few days since I've observed any White-throated or White-crowned Sparrows.

Longtime Madison birder Charles Naeseth commented that warbler numbers seem atypically low this spring. With respect to certain species, I'm inclined to concur. While species diversity has been pretty normal, I don't think there are nearly as many Golden-winged Warblers as past migrations at the creek corridor. Black-and-white Warblers seem down, and so do Bay-breasted Warblers. On the plus side it was nice to see many Pine Warblers this spring, probably the most I've ever observed at Pheasant Branch. I wondered if the lower numbers might be attributed to the changes (more open habitat at the creek corridor), but Charles said it's everywhere he's been in Dane County. Charles birds several favored areas regularly during spring, but he's still less inclined to chase every rare or uncommon bird that shows up on alerts. I pretty much stick to my local patch, so my migration snapshot is limited.

Dottie Johnson regularly refers to herself as The Greedy Birder ™ on account she doesn't want to miss a single warbler species at the creek corridor. But she never refers to blanks on her mental checklist as something she needs ― rather, she wants to see them. A semantic point, but one often hears birders talk about how they need this species or that species during spring migration. It makes me want to jibe "Really? What do you need them for?" I suspect down the road there are going to be some very needy birders as lists become increasingly difficult to pad. To sustain one's counts, more darting around the county or state will become necessary. Such sad example from a supposed environmentally aware subculture.

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