If you missed Part 1, read it here.
It’s Saturday, April 25, as I write this and it’s the middle of the second stretch of the Yard Squad Challenge. I’m going to remember this period for the psychological torture. Our team, the Yardbirds, has fallen into the middle of the pack. The competitive side of me doesn’t like that, but I tried to convince myself that I’ll just do my best and make my goal finding the most birds ever in my yard and neighborhood.
But, even more painful are the eBird needs alerts for county year birds that are flooding my Inbox. Most checklists from the past few days have had eight to eleven species of warblers. My recent checklists have had one – Northern Parula – and the stinking little birds just sing everywhere and won’t even let me see them.
And, if that were not enough torture, everyone is posting gorgeous photos of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and other lovely neotropical migrants on Facebook. Even a neighbor stopped me while I was out birding to tell me that he had grosbeaks at his feeder. Have I seen a Rose-breasted Grosbeak yet this year? Of course not!
My friend, Kerry Eckhardt, photographed this spectacular male Rose-breasted Grosbeak at her feeder on April 27.
Others are even reporting Black-throated Blue Warblers. That’s MY bird! Oh, beautiful warbler, you have been on my deck many times. I let thorny Devil’s Walking Stick colonize in my backyard because you like the berries to fuel your southward journey in the fall. And, if the cardinals eat all the berries before you arrive here, I make sure the suet station in the bird buffet is never empty. Many times you have stayed for ten days or longer and enjoyed my hospitality. Oh, Black-throated Blue Warbler, where are you now when I really need you?
Most troubling of all, though, has been the late arrival of Wood Thrushes in my neighborhood. Before today, I thought maybe I heard a distant song a couple of times, but it was too faint to be sure. I have heard many people sadly say, “We used to have Wood Thrushes.” I worry that my neighborhood will become one that used to have Wood Thrushes instead of one that has Wood Thrushes. That fear is justified; this is a bird in trouble. Audubon has designated it as a priority species because numbers have declined sharply in recent decades. So, not hearing the ethereal flute-like Wood Thrush song, perhaps the most beautiful bird song in North America, wasn’t just disappointing for me; I was worried about the birds. Learn more about the Wood Thrush from Audubon or this Smithsonian article. For even more details about how the Wood Thrush makes its beautiful song see Can You Sing a Duet with Yourself? And, enjoy this video from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.
Yesterday evening I had a conversation with a friend about my struggle to find birds. I considered three possibilities: 1) the birds just aren’t here this year; 2) they are here but I can’t detect them due to my crappy vision and not great hearing; or 3) my strategy is poor and I’m not looking in the right places at the right times. We decided that the last possibility was the only one that I could control, so I decided to change my routine.
This morning I left the house at 6:30 AM, still in my nightgown, to drive around with the windows down and listen. But, just as I opened the car door, I heard it – a Wood Thrush singing in my backyard! I was flooded with relief and anticipated a good day, but that was all I was going to get today (except for more parulas).
As frustrating as the last week has been, there have been high points, too. I enjoy seeing pretty Spotted Sandpipers nearly every day and appreciated this one who actually flew towards me.
Spotted Sandpiper
Sometimes the birding gods hear our pleas. The morning after I wrote the above section, guess who showed up on my deck?
On April 26, this male Black-throated Blue Warbler made an appearance on my deck at 7:40 AM.
Later in the morning, I was thrilled to find another warbler, this one new for my patch list, a Hooded Warbler singing in the woods near the little stream that feeds into the lake.
My luck continued on Monday. I was not feeling well and didn’t get out all morning. Mid-afternoon, I pushed myself to at least generate an eBird report for something so that I would not lose my checklist streak (now at 123 days). I did the easiest thing possible that involved leaving my yard – I walked over the dam and along the path through the woods by the side of the lake. On my way back home, I caught a glimpse of movement by the side of the trail. I felt very fortunate when I was able to locate a Veery about 30 feet away and get a good enough look for a solid ID. But, that was just the beginning. As I stood motionless, the bird moved closer and closer to me until it was only about 10-15 feet away and out in the open. The gorgeous Veery didn’t seem to mind my presence at all as I alternately stared and photographed. The timestamps on my photos show that I watched this wonderful little bird for five full minutes.
Veery
I found two more new species for the Yard Squad Challenge this past week – Orchard Oriole and Louisiana Waterthrush. And, I continued to learn about my neighborhood birds. I had seen a Louisiana Waterthrush only once before, but now that I heard one singing along the little creek that feeds into the lake, I’m betting that they breed along that creek and are here every year.
The Yard Squad Challenge is at the mid-point with four more weeks to go. The height of migration is right now. But, I have observed 73 species of birds in my neighborhood patch since the competition began on April 4, so finding new birds is getting tougher. What will I discover this coming week? Stay tuned for more birding in the time of COVID-19.
Birding for Life 