May 2 - Turned my back

I have been out of town for two weeks. I thought I'd be coming home to spring. Green! Leaves! Tulips! Flowing trees!  Nope. Michigan was under the continuing cold spell that we left. Cool, rain mixed with snow. But even cool weather can't stop everything. 

On my way to work this morning I saw a pair of Canadas with their little kids being carefully herded in between them-- three little goslings about the size of a tennis ball with legs and heads. I wonder what happened to the rest of the babies? Eaten by cats? Snapping turtles? Victims of unconscious drivers?  Not a very pleasant contemplation. Easier to think about the doting parents and sweet babes.

Did I tell you we are moving to Utah? So far we have a foot in each camp: working on a house to sell and working on a house to live in. The Parkview ornithology is going to be just as interesting as what we have here in Michigan.  Growing up in that house, it never seemed like there were many birds. However Jack has been keeping feeders filled for the last six months. The yard is alive with what David calls tweety-birds, meaning who knows what that fast little shy bird is.

The thistle feeders are covered with Pine Siskins and House Finches. The sunflower feeders are being enjoyed by chickadees, downy woodpeckers, and scrub jays. The magpies, flickers, jays and downies fuss over the suet. Ground feeders like juncos scrabble under the feeders. Saw a rufous sided towhee very busy digging through the pine needles to find edibles underneath. And the pair of Peregrine's that nested in the yard last year were very busy in overhead circles, but I didn't see them land in the yard. (darn!)

It is interesting how bird species are being categorized. Growing up we had juncos. They were slate gray with darker heads and lighter gray breasts. There were different species of juncos in the east and in California. Now the bird experts say they are all the same junco, just some color variations. Okaay. So welcome to the world of subspecies. What used to be four separate species are now just one, but one with great diversity.  The juncos that I saw in the Parkview yard were what is now called a Grayheaded Junco and have rufous side patches. Interesting.

I was also able to add two birds to my life list! A Townsend's Solitaire and what I'm about 90% sure was a Bushtit, both hung around the pine tree outside of the kitchen window long enough for me to grab the Audubon book and identify them. Cool!

The photo to the right is the Townsend's Solitaire. It has a distinctive light circle around the eye, and a very sharp black beak.

Jack identified a very odd oversized bird working over the feeder. Turns out the deer like sunflower seeds. They would come up and lick the side of the feeder. (No, we are not putting out salted sunflower seeds, before you ask.)  They would also paw through the snow and clean up all the discarded hulls. That's some kind of roughage!

Meanwhile it is finally starting to warm up. The mid-50s and perhaps even a day in the 60s are in our upcoming forecast. Can't wait!

The early spring bloomers that are usually at peak in mid April are finally starting to open up. Amy's yellow primroses, blue and pink anemones are getting bigger every day. A few pansies overwintered and are blooming as well. The daffodils are starting. The lovely little pulmenarias that usually bloom in March as the snow melts are finally opening up as well. I can see the first dark tips of mertensia poking up and the tulips are about 8 inches high. The maples are finally budding so while there are still many many bare limbs on trees that bud later on, the world is slowly shifting to a blush of chartreuse.

The grass is even looking plumped up and greener. Time to start the daily walks around the yard to see what is new, what's about to bloom or bud out. It's a great time to be alive.