19 April - 25 April 2021

Dear fellow flock of birders,

Bird migration is beginning to pick up in two main areas; the arrival of more and varied shorebirds and the arrival of more species of warblers. Both of these categories are Dane County-wide species.

New shorebirds include Black-necked Stilt, Dunlin, Wilson's Phalarope, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, American Golden Plover, Marbled Godwit, Long-billed Dowitcher and Willet.

New warblers include Palm Warbler, Pine Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-white Warbler and Orange-crowned Warbler. 

Unfortunately for me this past week has been mainly seeing more and more Yellow-rumped Warblers and hearing Ruby-crowned Kinglets singing along many trails. I've included photos of a Yellow-rumped Warbler and my favorite Ruby-crowned Kinglet with a heart-shaped crown.

An Eastern Bluebird pair has begun nesting. A photo of the pair standing on the top of a nest box is included.

A couple days ago I saw a flock of Cedar Waxwing feeding on last year's crabapples in a couple of the either blooming or budding crabapple trees. Cedar Waxwings are one of the most beautiful birds I know and pictured in flowering crabapple trees just adds to their beauty. I've included two photos of Cedar Waxwings. I've also included a photographic example of the budding crabapples in the large Crabapple Collection. Many are in the budding stage and mostly leafed out. Although stunning trees it does make seeing birds more difficult.  

Today on my walk in the Arb i saw a flock of 12 Pine Siskins in the Pinetum. They were joined by several American Goldfinches. I did capture a photo of two of each species at the top of a pine tree.  

As I finished my walk today I saw two of the first Barn Swallows flying around the Visitor Center. I wonder how soon more will arrive and start building nests under the eaves of the Visitor Center. I included a photo I captured a couple years ago of Barn Swallows reading an Arboretum information sign.

My last photo is of a Black-necked Stilt. It was not seen in the Arboretum but was seen in Dane County. The stilt is a tall, delicate bird. Again another beauty.

That's my bird report for the past week. I hope I can see more new arrivals for my next report.

All good health to you and good birding too,

Chuck