What is going on here at our house? And I have heard from some of you! Part 1 – more to follow!
Spring is a wonderful time to look for and observe birds. Our migrating ducks, grebes, mergansers, and cormorants have started to arrive on our small lake. They rest here generally about 2-3 days, sometimes a week, and then they are off.
Here are a few photos of what we are seeing. And yes, it is true – Cleon and I spend a whole lot of time lazing around in our outdoor chairs just watching and listening to birds – and also watching the clouds float by. These are the best weeks in central Illinois – when the wind is not at 25mph and the weather stormy. Spring can be full of soft and sunny days, green is appearing everywhere, and all our spring flowers are budded up or blooming. The heat and humidity of summer – when sitting outside is not nearly as much fun – is weeks away. We grab every moment we can to relax.
Our turtles are up and about! Before I took this photo, there were five turtles on this log – three large ones and two small ones. I turned my head to watch a Yellow-rumped Warbler in our trees – it is migrating through – and heard a big splash. When I looked at the turtles again, there were only two large ones. I think there may have been a bit of a ‘turtle issue’? A ‘turtle misunderstanding’? A ‘turtle dispute’? Aesop may have considered turtles (the water-loving cousins to tortoises) to be slow, but they certainly seem to be decisive. One wrong ‘turtle word’ and splash! Gone.
Our Double-crested Cormorants have arrived. At first, it was just one or two and then yesterday, they came in small groups. Don’t they look cozy and settled? These divers are only on our small lake in large numbers in spring. Once they rest from their migration, they will move to the much larger lakes in our area. We will have one or two off and on all summer, but never a group like this. Welcome back!
And here are some sightings you have sent me – thanks for sharing with all of us! First, from Rick in New Jersey, here are Evening Grosbeaks. They only stayed at his backyard feeder one day and then they were off to their nesting grounds in New England and Canada.
Dana from Minnesota had Wild Turkeys in her yard for the first time and was thrilled! She lives in a neighborhood that is close to woodlands and ponds. She and all of her neighbors regularly have pairs of Mallards in their yards. And those of you who have been following my blog since the beginning may remember that she is the one who told all of us about how these Mallards are regularly on everyone’s roofs – I have never seen Mallards on anyone’s roof! But her husband, Matt, shot this photo proving that just about the time I think a bird never does something, I can turn around and there is that very bird doing the very thing I said it would never do!
And Florence from southern California just sent this to me this morning – she was walking on a pier and look who greeted her! A beautiful Western Gull. “Good morning, Florence! And how are you on this fine day?”
The world outside. Beautiful, challenging. It can be overwhelming. And it is where all of us should be.