The Good, the Bad, And The Compulsive Birding

May is a busy month for birders. Migration is in full swing with warblers, flycatchers, and other assorted goodies decorating every tree with their unique colors and style.

For me, the best part is sitting next to a trickling brook watching everything unfold at its own pace but spring migration is like having a ticket to an all you can eat buffet at the world's greatest restaurant. You're tempted to stuff your plate with the as much of a variety of food as you can!

Birding can become a compulsion. You start to know what birds to expect in what places and it becomes a race to see as much as you can or you might miss something. 

Above is the elegant Eastern Kingbird with a nice contrast of charcoal and white.

This is the Blue-winged Warbler. I see them every year at powerline cuts or other open areas with similar habitat. The make a call that sounds like bee-buzzz. They have what looks like a small black eyeliner that marks their yellow head.

It's not uncommon to see as many as 50 or 60 species a day this time of the year! Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining but after I see as much as I can manage I will look forward to slowing down and watching just one bird at a time! 

Bike Path Birds That Won't Be Ignored!

 Riding a bike can be a nice way to change up your birding pace. You can cover a lot of ground quickly and as soon as you see bird activity you can just stop and get off the bike for a while. I think birds are less spooked by a bicyclist than they are by a pedestrian too. You kind of sneak up on them silently and quickly.

 I'm old school when it comes to biking. You're not going to convince me that riding in traffic is safer than riding on a sidewalk. Bicycle versus car-the bike loses every time. I don't mind slowing down to a walking pace where there are potential obstacles. If I see a pedestrian I am more than happy to hop off the bike and walk it until the pedestrian passes. Still, a path specifically designed for biking is better than a sidewalk.This time of year you can come across migrant birds even on a well-manicured city path. The House Wren has a bubbly song that it repeats constantly. Another noisy bird that is here throughout the year is the Northern Mockingbird. They're always busy singing multiple songs or staring you down as they go about conspicuously gathering food.

They are two examples of birds that refuse to be ignored!

Warblers Trickling In

I've been spending most of my birding time around local rivers, streams, and ponds like this one. It seems that Canada Geese like to nest on top of beaver huts. Seeing just one family of Canada Geese in a small pond seems more appealing than a city pond that is overrun by dozens of messy geese.

I'm starting to notice that some of the winter species of ducks have departed and there is more activity in the surrounding woods. The early warblers, like this Palm Warbler are slowly starting to trickle in. Soon the trees will be dripping with them. 

The Palm Warblers often hop around trees and bushes that are near ground level making it easier to follow them around than some of the other warbler species.

Some of the warblers insist on staying near the tops of trees which can lead to a bad case of what they call warbler-neck. If you spend a few hours looking up into the tops of trees with binoculars  you will know exactly what that means!

Many Birds Love Flooded Fields

Every March when all the ice has melted the Portland Fairgrounds attracts a nice variety of birds.

There are many different types of ducks but the Northern Shoveler with its long shovel-like bill is one of the most sought after ones.

A variety of shorebirds are likely such as the Wilson's Snipe and birds like Killdeer and yellowlegs seen here (except for the one yellowlegs taking a bath in the background).

This is generally the last big local birding excitement that takes place until the warblers start arriving some time in April. Then it becomes  an all you can bird buffet frenzy!