09 May 2010

Various - 9 MAY 2010

I suppose it's time for me to post something OTHER than Glossy Ibis pics, huh?

Some migrants are finally starting to drop into Crescent Lake NWR during the last couple of days. Some species around include:

Least Flycatcher
Eastern & Western Kingbird
Yellow-breasted Chat
Yellow Warbler
American Redstart
Rose-breasted & Black-headed Grosbeak
Bullock's Oriole
Harris's, White-crowned, Chipping, Clay-colored, Lincoln's, and Lark Sparrow.

It's just a matter of time before Blue Grosbeak, more warblers, and the hundreds of Orchard Orioles arrive!

A crummy picture but the first of the season for me, here is a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK on 6 May:

This nice HARRIS'S SPARROW has been feeding in the yard a lot lately. I didn't see this species last spring at the refuge:

Another new arrival was this YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT. I see this species in the exact same bush every spring:

Now becoming a pretty common sight, here is the BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK that has been at my feeders lately:

Early mornings are a nice time to be out, especially around Island Lake on foggy mornings: