They sure are coming!!

Hermit Thrush

40  degrees and sunny at 8:30 a.m.

The lower gardens were actually a lot quieter than I expected. Some of our regulars were there - robins, tree swallows, blue jays, goldfinches, song sparrows, cardinals, chickadees, a junco and some grackles flying overhead. On my way back a red-winged blackbird couple were hanging out near the parking lot.

The upper gardens had much the same with the addition of a flicker, a white throated sparrow kicking up lots of leaf litter and this fabulous hermit thrush which Haynes saw last weekend. I haven't seen one in a couple of years so it was most exciting.

In the woods adjacent to the soccer field parking and on the same side as the upper gardens, the hermit thrush reappeared with some ruby-crowned kinglets, an eastern phoebe and what I thought was a black-throated green warbler if that's possible at this time of year. It certainly looked like one, but only had a second to look at it before it flew off.

Flicker

How exciting that Haynes saw the palm warblers! I was half expecting to see a few since the day was so beautiful, but didn't.

Near the pond was another kinglet flitting around in  the low brush and a red-winged blackbird was singing. I think there may have been 3 or 4 today.

Woodcock meadow had several tree swallows and high up in a tree at the forest edge were cowbirds - 2 males and a female.

Yippee!!! Things are heating up in the bird world.