Easter(n) Migrants
- Apr 11, 2023
- 4 min read
4/11/2023
Easter weekend, and I had the weekend free. Like everyone else, I am getting itchy for migration to kick up. We all get a bit of zugenruhe [wikipedia] this time of year. Eastern migrants are on the move but not as plentiful as I had hoped. It is that fabulous time when you can still catch winter birds like kinglets and Winter Wren skulking about the underbrush and then find Pine Warbler and Yellow-throated Warbler trilling from the treetops.
With migration on my mind, I headed to Eagle Creek Park on Saturday. I was hoping for warblers. Pine Warbler, Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Louisiana Waterthrush are all early migrants. I pulled into the area where I had Pine last weekend and was greeted with the similar call of the Chipping Sparrow. Cute but stubbornly impossible to photograph birds. Speaking of - Eastern Phoebe were also vocal in the area. During their work week, they had built a nest, and I was able to stake the area out for a bit and finally get some photos. What I was not finding was warblers. So, I headed to the Skating Pond. I had Yellow-rumped in several places, but I did not have any that were interested in being photographed. Same went for the Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Winter Wren there. Surely the marina... nope. Although, there were several Yellow-rumped and a single Yellow-throated high in the pines, there. I drove around to various spots and mostly came up empty. I had a cooperative Mallard.... I found a spot where I was sure I was going to get Louisiana Waterthrush shots. The bird was flying back and forth across the road, feeding down in the stream at times. I should have just walked down to the stream and waited, but I was stubborn. For my lack of effort, I got some Yellow-rumped Warbler shots. I was finally calling it a day and heading out of the park when I flushed up a Pine Warbler next to the road. I parked and walked back to the spot. Pishing pulled in a male and female, but they landed directly above my head and then flew off. Further pishing got me some Tufted Titmouse shots. At least it was a beautiful day.
Mallard Tufted Titmouse Mallard Tufted Titmouse Yellow-rumped Warbler Eastern Phoebe Yellow-rumped Warbler Eastern Phoebe
Sunday, I was going to find some of those migrants I had missed out on Saturday. I was going south. If the birds were not going to come to me. I was going to go to them. 5:00 AM, and I was on the road to Brown Co. I got there early and had to wait for the sun to rise. I had also forgot to cool the car down on the way and had to wait for the camera to come to temperature with the outside. A warm lens in cold weather (it was 31 degrees that morning) will give you blurry photos. While waiting, I took some blurry moon shots.
I started the morning at Yellowwood SF. It is a beautiful place, and I have always had luck tracking down migrants there. The campgrounds were packed, and I could not get a parking space in my favorite place to look for Pine Warbler. I drove up and down the road listening and had 4 or 5 different Louisiana Waterthrush singing from various creeks. I managed shots of a couple of them. I also learned the importance of tying your boots when walking muddy creek beds. The mud sucked one of my boots off mid-step, and I put my foot down into the mud. Luckily, it was not as bad as it could have been. Squishily pressing on, I managed to catch a waterthrush on a successful hunt. It appears to have caught a dragonfly nymph and took it to a nearby rock to beat is senseless before gulping it down. Frankly, I would rather stick my foot in the mud again before I ate something like that.
Louisiana Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush
I drove Yellowwood a bit more before giving up. I was not hearing any other warblers. I birded my way around the area, but I did not have much. I heard a couple of Norther Parula. I saw one Yellow-throated Warbler and heard another. I just was not finding them in the numbers I had hoped for. I came across a creek with another waterthrush singing and tried for some more photos. I loved the rock bed of this creek and always look forward to visiting. I got some pics of the bird walking the creek bottom and hunting. It found a few little things while I was there, but nothing as big and gross as the nymph.
Louisiana Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush Louisiana Waterthrush
From there I headed to look for a fox den my brother and I found last year. Sadly, I did not see any fox in the area. I will have to try later this spring. I pulled into a lot and had a Brown Thrasher skulk into cover. A female Eastern Towhee dove for cover behind some rose thickets. I tried pishing out the thrasher without luck. The towhee was a given but popped up high. While photographing her, I realized I had also pished in a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. It hopped about for a minute and then disappeared. I put the camera down and was getting ready to pull out when I realized it had come back. I pished and snapped a couple more pics before it wandered back off, again. The sun was high, and it was time to call it a day. I put the camera down and started the trek north.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
That was my big weekend. Five species of warbler, both kinglets, and gnatcatcher on Saturday. Three species of warbler, one kinglet species, and one gnatcatcher on Sunday. I guess I am just going to have to be a bit more patient for the others to get here - just like every year. I am out of town next weekend. I am sure I will have better luck after I return.
Thanks for reading,
Mike
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