Springing Forward to Summer

I was shocked to learn that it had been a month since my last visit to Theler Wetlands . Not only had the grass grown ridiculously high due to all our rainfall, but many birds had left while new ones filled the void.

I was greeted by lots and lots of Barn Swallows which seemed quite willing to pose for me in the brilliant morning sunshine.

A month ago we had seen lots of Tree Swallows and Cliff Swallows but very few Barn Swallow.

I caught a glimpse of a small flock of Cedar Waxwings, the first this year, but they kept their distance at the top of a tree.

I saw my first Swainson’s Thrush of the year though it seemed even shyer than the waxwings.

Luckily, my favorite Marsh Wren was more than willing to pose while protecting his nesting area.

We saw a lot of nesting Canada Geese on our previous trip to the refuge and, as expected, I saw several goslings on this trip.

Spring quickly becomes Summer.

(Un)Common Yellowthroat

Although I often hear the Common Yellowthroat while birding Theler, it’s rare that I get a chance to take a shot of one so I was amazed Saturday when this little guy landed on a (relatively) nearby branch,

let me snap off four or five shots

before flying off into the shrubbery

where it could be heard off and on for the next ten minutes but was not seen again.