First, many thanks to Koda for moderating this forum.
This update is a little sketchy. I've been upgrading my backyard to make it more attractive to birds, with the ironic effect that I haven't been able to pay much attention to the birds themselves.
The week of April 19-23 was blackbird week. A red-wing sang on April 22, a grackle appeared on April 23, and I recorded a pair (male/female) of cowbirds that day too. All of these birds were gone the next week (although the cowbirds may have left a little souvenir somewhere)--this is not blackbird territory.
Next week the sparrows came--white-throated and white-crowned. The white-throated even sang for a day--that's a first. Both put in extremely brief appearances. I noticed the white-throated was here April 28 & 29, the white-crowned only on the 29th. The white-throated I see every year, but the white-crowned is more erratic at this site. Usually I see the white-throated and the hermit thrush at about the same time, but this year they were almost 3 weeks apart.
There are blue jays nesting here somewhere. One day (which I forgot to record) the blue jay was mobbed by a lot of other birds to no apparent effect as it entered a tall thicket. Later I saw the female cardinal gathering nesting material, so it may have been the cardinal's nest which was raided. There are also robins which are surely nesting, and the chickadees are heard but not seen. I have seen the flicker foraging for ants in the park immediately to the south. I hope it found a new home since the tree I believe it was using last year has toppled. Starlings and house sparrows are also present.
I missed last week altogether. Part of it I spent at the Classics Conference (500 teenagers, 4 days, no sleep. It was fun) at Brock in St. Catharines. It's quite something to see those turkey vultures just hanging in the air (high winds) over the escarpment. The Sharp-Eyed Offspring spotted a very young robin fledgling on May 9.
Love to hear what you other people are seeing in your backyards.
