Ducklings!

First mallard ducklings of the year spotted on the north side of the lake near the reeds around noon.

Sandpiper and Swallow

This morning I had my first really good look of the year at a Spotted Sandpiper at powderhorn lake (I had seen 3 sandpipers a few weeks ago early one morning but didnt' have my binoculars and couldn't get close enough to verify whether they were spotted sandpipers or not). In addition, I saw my first Tree Swallow of the year at the park, along with several red-winged blackbirds and the first song sparrow I've seen since they did the grass burn along the waterline.

Return of the Night-Heron

So, the Black-crowned Night-Herons (or perhaps just one) are back in the park. I've seen one for the last couple of days, generally hanging out on the island.

I saw a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker as recently as Friday, so my previous pronouncement that they have moved through the area appears to have been premature.

Hermit thrushes can still be seen regularly. My high count was 4 of them on last Wednesday afternoon.

The Scaup is still (somewhat inexplicably) hanging around in the middle of the lake.

Sunday afternoon I went out to Theodore Wirth park for an hour or two in the afternoon. The most noteworthy sightings for the day were a Pileated Woodpecker, a single male Belted Kingfisher (my first of the year), and a small group of Northern Rough-winged Swallows (a new bird for me).

Scaup

Yet another new park species for me over the lunch hour: a lone Greater (I think) Scaup diving in the middle of the lake:



There were also a couple pairs of blue-winged teal at the lake over the noon hour.

I observed a pair of great egrets flying over the park last night, but they didn't stop at the lake. I haven't seen the yellow-bellied sapsuckers for a few days, so I assume they've moved on through the area. The hermit thrush is still hanging around, though.

More butterflies showing up all of the time as well:

Parakeets?

Not much new at the park in the last few days. The one strange sighting over my lunch hour today was a couple of parakeets (Budgerigars, I think) hanging out in the trees along the west side of the lake. At first I had assumed that the harsh chirping that I was hearing was just a group of house sparrows until I saw a small long-tailed yellow/white/blue bird fly between the trees. I guess somebody is missing a pet.

I also saw another field sparrow over lunch hour.

Over the weekend, I took a trip down to the Minnesota Valley NWR, and had a really good afternoon of birding. Beautiful weather, a bunch of first-of-the-year sightings (white-throated sparrow, tree swallow, trumpeter swan, cedar waxwing, ruddy duck, lesser scaup, redhead) and a good look at my first red-necked grebe (thanks to a look through a friendly stranger's scope). I also saw a ton of yellow-rumped warblers, some hooded mergansers and killdeer, horned grebes, bald eagles, blue-winged teals, ruby-crowned kinglets, brown-headed cowbirds, etc. etc.

Kinglet invasion

These guys are everywhere right now:



My first sighting of a Blue-winged Teal at Powderhorn park:



The pair of bluebirds I spotted a while ago seem to be sticking around, I even observed them checking out a hole in a tree over the lunch hour. If we're lucky, perhaps they'll nest in the park this year. The Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are still around as well.

Warbler Alert

I spotted my first warbler of the year last night. It was a Yellow-rumped warbler, as you might expect. I have not yet found any more this morning, but it looks like the warbler wave will be starting soon now.

In somewhat less exciting news, this morning I spotted my first Brown-headed Cowbirds of the year.