A small first before a big day

Big day is so, so near.

And while I've been greatly looking forward to that, there was something to celebrate at this week's start. Songbird migration is obviously well under way, with the warbler action really starting to heat up around the state. On Sunday morning, upon returning from the tree disposal site, I sliced up a mandarin orange and left the slices on my otherwise empty platform feeder. I was yet to have any orioles at my feeders (granted, they've only been up for a few migrations), but I didn't have long to wait as, while watching the Miami GP, I went to get a drink, looked out the window, and saw:

Two male orchard orioles (mature on left, immature on right)! Success! The orioles stuck around the rest of the day--taking some orange slices to enjoy in the hedges--and another (or the same?) immature male was at the feeder this afternoon.

One of a couple Swainson's thrush spotted hopping about the backyard.

A gorgeous week

May is off to a great start with warmer air, bluer skies, and more birds passing through town. It was an economic week of birding to kick the month off.

My first stop for the week was the Kidder Recreation Area.

A few days later I was welcomed to the park by this fox squirrel.

Had a quiet afternoon at the archery range, but I did get a peek at a Pileated Woodpecker and a much closer look at a Groundhog!

Another beautiful morning at the park preceded a stormy evening. It's always amazing how green the grass can be after the long, white winter.

It's (the dreaded) season of flycatcher identification. My last outing of the week was the city's tree disposal site. I was happy to see my first chimney swift and gray catbird of the year.

Now it's all about preparing for Big Day.

Let it be MAY!

 It's May. Yes.

It was a cool and rainy/snowy April for North Dakota. But I managed to get out and bird around town on the month's nicer days.

April's end also marks the end of the Project FeederWatch season.

May 2022 opened with a cloudy, windy and mercifully dry afternoon. I headed down to the park seeking out hermit thrush and came away with a lot more! Can't wait to get out and turn up some warblers as they pass through.

Welcome back, sparrows!

The park is now bustling, bristling with the sounds of spring. Each day brings a fresh helping of birds. Waterfowl touching down in the ponds and rivers to forage and rest. Kinglets and the earliest warblers flittering feverishly about the brush. And, most notably today, sparrows by the dozen kicking up leaves and whirling around roadsides. It has been a great week to be out birding, and it only goes up from here (at least for the next several weeks)!

It's not just the park. The backyard feeders are also seeing some familiar faces!

A great little, long weekend.

It's been a couple of low-key days since my cold but rewarding morning at the prairie-chicken blind. Project FeederWatch occupied several hours of the traditional weekend--Saturday being windy and sunny while Sunday turned out windy and snowy. I was rewarded with one of the best showings of the season, with the grackles, robins and doves appearing at the birdfeeders alongside the reliable wintering species.

Some of my favorite observation moments included the inverting nuthatch above and the juncos going after the low-hanging suet feeder in a corner of the yard.

The last species added to the PFW list was an exciting return: a pileated which came to explore a neighbor's tree.

Today, excitement lingering from the fun of the weekend's birding plus the wild matches of the Genesis 8 Melee event, I headed down to the park for another windy walk, hoping to turn up some sparrows and migratory waterfowl. Success!

Greater Prairie-Chickens!

As my date with the prairie-chicken blind approached, I watched the forecasted temperature drop, and drop, and drop. And in response, my packlist grew longer and longer. The weather could be worse, though.

4:30am: phone alarm goes off. I whip up a travel mug of cappuccino and hit the road. The weather is in line with the most recent predictions. Cold. A snow flurry turns into a decent snow shower as I head towards Rothsay, and in short stretches the windshield is almost whited out. Visibility continues to be an issue as I arrive at the parking place for the blind and head out on foot. I'm now very glad I scouted out the area the previous weekend so I can confidently walk straight while the glow of my flashlight is mostly exhausted by the falling, blowing snow; the reflective posts meant to guide birders to the blind were completely concealed. I arrived at the blind, began setting up, and realized I had left my cappuccino in the car.

By 5:49, I'm fully set up in the blind, and the wait isn't long. At 6:11, still dark, I see a chunky, winged silhouette descend into the mix of snow and grass about forty feet away. Then a few more. Then begins the haunting and hilarious sounds of the greater prairie-chicken courtship displays. The morning is already a success.

The wind howls on. The sun creeps over the horizon, casting its awesome "golden hour" effect for a sliver of a moment before ducking back into cloud cover. All the while, the prairie chickens dance, boom, strut, spar, sit and rest. It's incredible to watch and listen to.

I don't know if I've ever been so cold for so long--something I'm grateful to claim. I've been out in far worse temperatures, but the < 20F and the incessant midwestern winds had me doing my best chickadee impression in the blind. At 7:58, the prairie-chickens whirled away, leaving but two behind. As excited as I was by the birding action, I was excited to get out of the cold. But a short while later, the prairie chickens returned to the blind area. I certainly couldn't complain about a lack of the bird I was out to see!

At 8:41, the prairie chickens fled once more, and this time none remained. Hastily, I closed up the blind, flung my backpack and camera bags over my shoulders, and made my way to the warmer confines of my car.

It's approaching 11:30 as I wrap up this post, and I'm already looking forward to watching birds for Project FeederWatch tomorrow. I will definitely book another morning at the prairie-chicken blind in the coming years, and I will definitely make it for a later date in April or May.