I'm on a roll, now! April 2018 birds

[hazelrunmama]

April of 2018 was an odd month--more like December than April.  We had a few major snow storms and it took forever for the water to open up this spring.  The cold weather also brought out a lot of migrants, who staged near food supplies (like our feeders and yard) and near any open water they could find.

Hooded mergansers on the South Fork of the Eau Claire River, looking mighty elegant against the snow-covered bank:
   

A brown creeper checking out the pine in the yard:
   

A Yellow-bellied sapsucker on a balsam trunk:

[hazelrunmama]

The American robins were a bit shell-shocked with all the snow.  They went through mega-bucks-worth of mealworms and were desperate enough to eat the sunflower hearts, too.  Despite the inclement weather, they still sang a lot and spent some time battling for mates and territory:
   

...but mostly, they just sat around near the food and looked miserable:
   

The Hairy woodpeckers weren't put off by the snow.  They spent their free time searching out drumming spots, like our deck post:
   

[hazelrunmama]

The Song sparrows joined our local year-rounders, like Purple finches and White-breasted nuthatches, at the feeding areas.

   

   

[hazelrunmama]

By mid-April, even the Redpolls were getting impatient to move north to their nesting grounds.  They'd gather in large numbers at the platform feeders and talk over their traveling plans:


The Hermit thrushes and American robins were still reliant on mealworms, which were in such high demand that it was difficult to find any to buy!  Luckily, I'd put in a big supply earlier in the year when I saw the weather reports... 
        

[hazelrunmama]

We had a large influx of migrating sparrows toward the middle of the month, too, including some interestingly-marked juncos and the Red fox sparrows:
           

With all the little birds hanging around the feeder areas, we ,of course, had more frequent, uncomfortable, visits from the Sharp-shinned hawk:

[hazelrunmama]

And then, finally, the weather began to warm and the ice came off the lake.  Suddenly, we had an influx of birds not commonly seen here, like Greater scaup (seen here in the foreground with some Ruddy ducks):
   

...and Trumpeter swans:
    

[hazelrunmama]

We normally do see Wood ducks, but holy cats!  They were coming out of the woodwork!  So many Wood ducks!!  Dozens of drakes at a time, with just a few harassed fems trying to avoid attention:
            

And to close out the month, a shot of one of my favorite ducks, the Bufflehead:
   

Hope you enjoyed April! 

[peggy]

Enjoyed your photos! I haven't been on this forum in a little over 3 years! Glad you are still in business!

[peggy]

As I look closer, it looks like this site is not being actively used now. I will check again another time to see if any more activity.