I'm enjoying it while it lasts, but we're running out of days like this.
Though, the surge of Yellow-rumped Warbler should be here soon. I regret
not getting to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum any last month, but I finally
made it there on Thursday. There were Tennessee, Nashville, Chestnut-sided,
Black and White Warbler, Redstart, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, and
Yellowthroat that morning along with a Scarlet Tanager. Yesterday, Carver
Park was very quiet with very few of 6 species of warbler and very few birds
overall. A Canada Warbler was the highlight of the morning. I went back to
the arboretum again today and it was pretty active. The select morning count
went as follows.
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Green Heron 2
Cooper's Hawk 1
Sora 1 (I believe this is the same individual I saw on Thurs. at Spring Peeper
Meadow.)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1 (probably many more than this but I did not go to
the garden/flowering areas of the arboretum)
Eastern Wood-Pewee 7
Blue-headed Vireo 2
Warbling Vireo 1
Philadelphia Vireo 1
Red-eyed Vireo 6
House Wren 4
Gray Catbird 3
Tennessee Warbler 4
Nashville Warbler 3
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1 (transitioning to normal plumage)
Palm Warbler 1
Blackpoll Warbler 2 (1 that came within 2 feet of me at chest level in a low
overhanging branch)
Black and White Warbler 3
American Redstart 1
Common Yellowthroat 5
Wilson's Warbler 1
Canada Warbler 1
Clay-colored Sparrow 1
Lincoln's Sparrow 2
I normally don't comment much on anything besides reporting what I see, but
Pastor Al's post earlier about the use of a mobbing track this week got me
thinking. Why does anyone have the need to use recordings in the field to
attract birds? I have never used any recordings to see the birds I see.
While I don't go on any of the scheduled trips because I enjoy birding on my
own in my area, I would never want to be a part of a group that uses
recordings. It may be hypocritical of me, but I have no problem with spishing
as that is a sound I naturally produce myself. Plus spishing is often not
effective. I just find the use of recordings to be lazy birding. If you
consider birding a sport, then I consider the use of recordings in the field to
be cheating like the use of a performance enhancing drug such as steroids.
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