Andy's Green Big Year

It's been a while since my last post, but there has been some good activity in the area, despite not great riding conditions. There have been some good south winds here and there, and anytime they've been blowing from that direction, I've tried to pay attention to movement around the yard.  Shortly after my last post, a pair of Sandhill Cranes showed back up in the marsh, which was really great to see. This species makes such a wonderful, primordial sound which is fitting given that they are one of the oldest known species of extant bird. Fossil evidence dates them back at least 2.5 million years, and maybe even as far back as 10 million years. Pretty amazing. I'm wondering if this is the same pair that tried to nest last year back there, I hope so.  Some new waterfowl showed up too, including some new "yard birds" (birds I've never seen in the yard before). American Coot and a single Snow Goose mixed in with some Canada Geese flying overhead was a nice tr...

  March has certainly come in like a lion here lately. Whiplashing between blizzards and abnormal warmth, it's been an interesting run as of late to put it mildly. Birding had been pretty slow though and the mess from the blizzard made biking not terribly appealing, so I focused on the area around my yard and neighborhood. With the warmer temperatures post-blizzard, I had hopes of getting some short-distance migrants, especially Red-winged Blackbird, which has been a longtime first sign of spring for my family.  On Saturday it was windy, but warm, and I was itching for a walk. White-winged Crossbills had been popping up all over the place, and I was hoping maybe I could snag some. I hooked up the dogs and walked around the neighborhood. The melting snow and mud were full of great smells for them, and they had fun. We dodged meltwater and thawed rotten things along the road. Other than the usual suspects, not really a whole lot of birds on the first half of the walk. Then I hea...