Not too much going on. Last Saturday Lise and I went to Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge. The weather was pleasant and a number of new species were reported there, so off we went. We got harrier (for me), red-winged blackbirds, rusty blackbirds, trumpeter swans (for me), snow geese, and sandhill crane. The road tour was closed so we had to walk a couple miles on snowy trails but it was great.
Then Monday evening we went to Legg Park to find another delightful early spring bird, the woodcock. Heard them immediately on getting out of the car and then we saw a few doing the courtship flight. Pretty cool and the first ones reported in the area this season. So right now we both have 90 species, putting us at 36% of the 250 goal with 20% of the year gone.
Some nasty winter weather to the contrary, Spring is springing out. Local lakes are starting to thaw. Lots of new species are being reported around the area. Individual red-winged blackbirds had been reported for about a week. Then the day we went to Shiawassee it was like, boom baby, hundreds of them suddenly appearing, all squawking away at once. Thousands of geese came into the refuge in just a couple days’ time. Leading to Lise’s favorite Aldo Leopold quote, “One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of a March thaw, is the spring.” Which was quite appropriate the lovely March day we were there.
Lise, with her home office, has time to check our bird feeders on a regular basis. She has been seeing a Carolina wren the past couple days. When I’m checking it out all I see is the reason why we’re going broke feeding birds.
Happily munching away, eating Molly’s college tuition.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 