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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Signs of spring (1 Viewer)

coal tit said:
To see one black kite here on passage would be a highlight here in Derbyshire one species that seems to miss our county on passage
but pleased to say at least red kite showing more now.
Click to expand...

Yep, it's all relative, seen only the party of 3 (breeding?) in Cornwall/Scillies the other year myself in UK, but thousands abroad of course.

Another 9 N near dusk today, 20+ yesterday, but most presumably passing by higher up and on a wider front during the day as it's so warm and sunny (thermalling not a problem).

These are adults - passage north in Feb/March, with first year birds a month or two later which presumably account for the UK May records which occur every year.
 
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So how did the UK do this weekend?

Today had first Swallow and a Black Stork north over the garden, 500 flock Stock Dove and continuous small (up to 100) flocks of small passerines (most Chaffinch). 100 Lapwings also N yesterday.

(Various local passerines all singing now of course).
 
Great Spotted Cuckoo near Tenby now. Classic early spring overshoot. I went out Sunday onto Cemaes Head (North Pembrokeshire) looking for one. Somehat hopeful I know but shows I wasn't too far out with my thinking.
 
Killdeer

Is mating Killdeer a sign of spring? I am new to this, but we got up to 85 degrees yesterday and only 34 degrees now today. Yesterday, I thought I heard some new birds, but maybe it is the same birds doing mating type of calls. I couldn't find any knew birds with my binoculars. I saw the tufted titmouse a lot and a sparrow - maybe their song changed??
 
LifeIsGood2 said:
Is mating Killdeer a sign of spring? I am new to this, but we got up to 85 degrees yesterday and only 34 degrees now today. Yesterday, I thought I heard some new birds, but maybe it is the same birds doing mating type of calls. I couldn't find any knew birds with my binoculars. I saw the tufted titmouse a lot and a sparrow - maybe their song changed??
Click to expand...

Mating anything is a sign of spring, though possibly not a sign of migration. You're right that some birds that have been around are singing new songs. (If you have chickadees, they have a new song come spring.)

I saw a first swallow! A Tree Swallow - had no idea it would be here this early and with all the snow still around. (But now that I look at ebird, I see that they are usually the earliest arriving swallows in PA.)
 
No spring warblers nor swallows here yet. I saw a bumblebee today. Herbaceous plants and cherries are in bloom, and some smaller trees have tight bundles of new leaves that will spread out any day now. Year-round residents have been building nests for some time.
 
Swallows

Gretchen said:
Mating anything is a sign of spring, though possibly not a sign of migration. You're right that some birds that have been around are singing new songs. (If you have chickadees, they have a new song come spring.)

I saw a first swallow! A Tree Swallow - had no idea it would be here this early and with all the snow still around. (But now that I look at ebird, I see that they are usually the earliest arriving swallows in PA.)
Click to expand...

We do have chickadees. I have not identified swallows yet. I think we have them in MO.
 
LifeIsGood2 said:
We do have chickadees. I have not identified swallows yet. I think we have them in MO.
Click to expand...

If there are chickadees around, listen for them singing "fee-bee" (phoebe?) (instead of the usual chicka-dee-dee-dee). I'm sure you will have swallows, and they may already be there (depending how far north you are). Look for them swooping around over water or meadows picking up insects in the air.
 
Blackcap in full song this morning. No whitethroats of either kind yet (I visited the bushes where I saw them last year on migration and found only a pair of Black Redstarts; I have no idea what they were doing in a bush in the middle of a field, as none was singing from any buildings I passed by today).
 
Not much spring here yet. Snow still covers most of the ground and what ground is snow-free is still frozen. Nonetheless a large flock of grackle came through this morning making a large racket. I think that they were pretty put out that the ground was still totally frozen.

After sitting in the trees for a while they moved off.
 
Despite the persistence of snow cover here (still several feet in places), there's just no holding some birds back - Turkey Vultures, grackles, and blackbirds (the icterid variety) have all moved into the area in the last few days.
 
At the mo, winds are looking good on Sat & Sun for an arrival of migrants, be nice to get a few singing Willow Warblers about the place.
 
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