Spring has surely sprung for real---today a pair of yellow-bellied sapsuckers finally arrived to work on the pine tree in front of our house, something they've done during every migration for the last 4 or 5 years. It's the only time of year I don't regret having planted the tree within a few feet of the house, because we get great close-ups of the visitors from both upper and lower levels; they never seem perturbed about our proximity in the windows. Their arrival also prompted the launch of my first "formal" effort for the BBA, armed with record-keeping materials for the field. While we didn't find any FOY birds or new migrants today, we were rewarded with views of a robin in a nest, adding and weaving materials, and shaping the cup with its body. We also enjoyed an exhibition of kingfisher behavior: after much calling, a pair did some parallel flying and seemed to rout a third kingfisher from the territory. Likewise, there was some loud and aggressive posturing between four hairy woodpeckers. Plainly, this year's birding will focus a lot less on listing species, and a lot more on learning behavior. Lida Whyte
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