More March arrivals in the yard!

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 treat. Ring-necked Duck numbers also surged in the third week of March, I saw as many as 75 at a time. 

Male and female Ring-necked Ducks

Green-winged Teal and Mallard numbers have remained up, and a mixed bag of other species keeps things interesting - Common Goldenyes, Buffleheads, and Northern Shovelers add some color and a variety of sizes to the dabblers in the shallows. It's so fun watching ducks in their fresh breeding plumage, courting and squabbling with each other. 

Green-winged Teal and a hen Mallard

Other birds that I've had arrive but not been able to photograph include Fox Sparrow (singing their beautiful song) from the brush along the edge of the yard, an ever-so-brief Merlin coursing through the area, stopping only to perch in a pine tree for a few seconds but leaving before the camera was ready, and a newly arrived Great Blue Heron,-not so coincidentally timed with the thawing of the ice on the lake (another early year this year, about two weeks ahead of "normal"). 

My most exciting bird this last few weeks though almost slipped past me. I was sitting out on the deck in the afternoon and heard a very, very faint machine gun like twittering. White-winged Crossbills! But they sounded far away. Crossbills can be sneaky - they feed silently in trees, usually only calling when they take flight. I ran inside and grabbed my camera and got ready to try to find them. I didn't have to go far! There they were: a male and a female practically whispering to each other only 20 yards away or so - I managed to get a few quick photos, and as quickly as they arrived, they silently flew away. Lucky! I was thrilled to get them. 

An aptly named female White-winged Crossbill

A few other new arrivals also showed up the last few days - Pied-billed Grebes submarining around the cove behind the dock, and just minutes before I started this post, a newly arrived Eastern Phoebe! Welcome back, my friends. Spring is here! 

My green list stands at 78 species now, which I'm pretty happy about. However, I am very, very eager to get back out on my bike and start logging some miles! There are still some more species to try to get before they finishing moving through the area - including Tundra Swan and Red-breasted Merganser. Another trip to the Blue Lake Sewage Lagoons and Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge seems to be in my near future. Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, thanks so much for reading!

Male Gadwall