Andy's Green Big Year

Bobolink in a pasture Things have slowed down quite a bit, as expected with the end of spring migration. It's also been hot and rainy - and I've been busy at work. I've still managed to get out a few times though, with varying success.  The weather was decent on the Juneteenth holiday so I decided to do a ride. I had two options - head to the Rapids Lake unit of the nearby National Wildlife Refuge to try for Eastern Meadowlark and Black Tern, or stay closer and try for a Pine Warbler that had been reported at a small park not too far away. My decision was made for me that day as river flooding pretty much eliminated the refuge as a possibility.  The trails at Spring Lake Regional Park It was a pleasant ride over, with the "usual suspects" bird wise. Red-eyed Vireos, Common Yellowthroats, Great Crested Flycatchers, and other common species were singing as I biked through Spring Lake Park. After getting through there, I pulled up to the small park where the Pine War...

  Green Heron getting ready for a day of hunting frogs and such It's been a busy last week or so at the job, and the weather has been hot and hazy with smoke from wildfires up north, so I haven't been birding at all since last weekend. However, the summer doldrums are rapidly approaching - and the weather forecast looked great for Thursday - so I decided to use some leave and do a day of birding back at Murphy Hanrehan. Several species on my needs list there - Cerulean Warbler, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Virginia Rail, and a White-eyed Vireo that someone else found were on my mind. Plus, an Eastern Screech-Owl was reported there during the evening by a researcher doing moth work at night. I figured I'd get up early and try to start the day by getting that bird. The alarm sounded at 03:30 and I crawled out of bed. Not super excited for a 13-mile ride to start for sure. But I made it work. It was a pleasant morning and the ride was easy. However, even though I got there at 05:15, ...

  Last day of May - four Prothonotary Warblers! One of my milestones that I hoped to meet when I started this Big Year thing was to get 200 species by the end of May. As the final weekend of May approached, I was sitting at 198 species. There were (and are still) lots of great birds showing up at Murphy-Hanrehan, where I went last weekend. Cerulean Warbler, both cuckoos, Mourning Warbler, Virginia Rail, and a handful of others that I still need. It's a longer bike ride though and kind of a pain with construction. Plus, Thursday was "leg day" at the gym, so my legs were somewhat gelatinous. I decided to head over to my main (much closer) hotspot, Louisville Swamp. Somebody reported a Cerulean Warbler there also, and I was hoping to snag an Olive-sided Flycatcher as well, with all of the nice structure along the wetland bluff. My bike ride over was rather eventful, in a good way! I didn't leave as early as I wanted because I needed to air up the tires a bit, and I could...