Chirps and Cheeps

The month of April brought many of the long-awaited migrants everyone in WNY was hoping for!  We had a Fox Sparrow at our feeders for more than half the month.  He seemed content to hang out at our feeders for over two weeks.  On a couple of occasions, he was joined by another Fox Sparrow - but otherwise, he shared the feeders with our regulars.

As the month went on, I was happy to see the return of flycatchers, kinglets, creepers, sparrows, wrens, towhees, mockingbirds, the first warblers, sandpipers, Broad-winged Hawks, and so much more.  What fun!

This month was also very extraordinary in that Common Loons were being seen everywhere - at all kinds of lakes and ponds - large and small - city and rural.  It was a very unusual phenomenon and I don't know if anyone still knows the answer as to why the loons were dropping out of the sky to visit Western New York.  One very foggy morning down in Cattaraugus County, I had five on a small lake calling their mournful song.  It was like I was in another world and I really wish I could have captured the experience.

A Loggerhead Shrike was found in Ontario County and I made the drive to see that neat find.  It was a NYS bird for me and was well worth the drive!

One day late in the month, when the winds seemed to be just right, I conducted my own hawk watch out on my deck. I had many raptors and birds fly overhead: from Canada Geese and Turkey Vultures - to Osprey, Cooper's Hawks, Red-taileds, and a count of 13 Broad-winged Hawks for the couple of hours while I was out there.  Some birds came in quite low and I got some pretty awesome views.  I will have to remember to do this again next spring!