Boots on the Ground

This past week has been cool and very windy.  Today was the much better and a few migrants certainly showed up.  Things have been rather slow for migrants so far and my list of birds is usually much longer by now.  However the cool weather and lack of places to visit explains that.

My best place locally is Reid CA north of here.  I often spend two hours or more checking out the place.  It is a very wet place, so boots are a neccessity!
I usually do not spend much time there in April and May, but this year it will get a thorough going-over no doubt.

This past Tuesday was off and on sun and snow squalls!  That was the case when I stopped by Reid on that day.

I went back today and spent quite a bit of time looking around.  Wild Ginger is quite common there in one area.

Trilliums are about to bloom.

I found another Common Hackberry today which is not a common tree here.

American Beech is abundant especially in one area.

As well, Black Cherry is fairly common.

Scene along the river in the "Lilly" Bush

Today, there were lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers, but no other warbler (or vireo for that matter!).  I tallied 35 of those common warblers on my walk today.
There were other migrants including Hermit Thrushes, White-throated Sparrows and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
For some reason Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers were numerous today, with at least 7 on my list today.  No doubt I missed some!

With much time spent at home, the yard is getting a thorough scan.  I had a couple of more Pine Warblers today, and a FOY Blue-headed Vireo was working the trees late this afternoon.

The next week should see a good number of migrants, where-ever we may be (or not)!