Birds #7 (2020)

Banner day today. First ever northern parula and blue-winged warbler heard and seen at the house. Also, Baltimore oriole (a breeding pair), ovenbird, black-and-white warbler, blue-gray gnatcatcher, yellow-rumped warbler, black-throated green warbler, indigo bunting, song sparrow, American goldfinch.

A few days ago during a brief dry break between rain showers I went outside where the jack-in-the-pulpits grow (a lot of them this year, and a lot bigger than past years), and heard some hermit thrushes singing at the top of the hill. Normally don’t hear them singing, except for a single “wharp!” call once a spring. It was lovely.

One bird I miss, although we’ve heard a yellow-bellied sapsucker this year, it hasn’t shown up in our backyard basswood tree as it has for the past couple of years. It would hang out for a long time just going up the tree in circles and was enjoyable to watch.