Lots of birds are in Madison these days. Certainly it's the peak of the Spring migration. Warblers, vireos, waterbirds, flycatchers, orioles, tanagers, goatsuckers, sparrows and many others are here NOW but will mostly be gone (north) in less than two weeks. On the Tuesday bike-birding trips this week, we found more warblers than I've seen in one location in...a long time. In addition to a couple of semi-rarities, we saw Blackburnian, Bay-breasted, Pine, Magnolia, Golden-winged, Mourning, Cape May and other warblers, some eating Psyllids in almost-bare Hackberry trees and hence fairly easily seen. Vireos included a Blue-headed and a Philadelphia, woodpeckers a Red-headed, orioles an adult male Orchard, flycatchers a Yellow-bellied, mouses a Tit, nuthatches a Red-breasted, mergansers a Red-breasted, tremoloing a Common Loon in breeding plumage, owls a pair of Great Horneds, Sandhill Crane families a colt...all this at PICNIC POINT!
In subsequent guided bike-birding trips at other locations, we noticed a molting male Summer Tanager, Hooded and Prothonotary Warblers, Eastern Kingbirds, Philadelphia Vireo, Green Heron and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.
All my trips are by bike (or bike-bus) and mostly cost a mere ten dollars. If you're reading this blog but have not yet signed up, you might want to send me an email so as to get important details and not miss out on the May migration.
Next trips: Friday May 13th at 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Meet by the bikerack.
