What a Sunday that was, eh!

Yesterday morning at 6:30, as I set off on my bike as the lightning flashed, I thought, "Good thing I didn't schedule a bike-birding tour today!" Well...WRONG! as it turned out. The scary weather that was forecast never materialized (hereabouts), and I ended up spending most of the day outside. The SOUTH winds brought in some first-of-the-year birds, including HOUSE WREN, SORA, EASTERN TOWHEE, BANK SWALLOW, BROAD-WINGED HAWK and several sparrows -- WHITE-THROATED, SWAMP and LINCOLN'S. A dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk was surprising, as I thought I'd seen the last of that species for the season. Loons were flying northwest, over GREEN DARNER dragonflies including one "in tandem" pair. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers seem to be near their peak, already, with females predominating yesterday. As I mentioned on "Diaspora" last Thursday, the Sapsuckers' "wells," sap-oozing holes in the bark of various trees, are visited by many other kinds of birds -- other woodpeckers, chickadees, kinglets and warblers, for example -- which can lead to some exciting interactions when they are discovered and driven away by the well's "owner." I didn't find the American Toads, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher or Northern Waterthrush reported to me, but did notice a MOSQUITO in our kitchen at night. And I got it before it got me! Opening the door this morning, I heard the first full song I've heard this year from a White-throated Sparrow. Soon they will be legion, along with Myrtle/Yellow-rumped Warblers. Sunday saw a big influx of Field Sparrows. The winter sparrows (Junco and American Tree) remain in small numbers, but that will change with the next serious south winds!