Confined to our Missouri home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I will not be returning to Colorado for several weeks. But what a great time to be "stuck" in the Midwest.
Throughout April and into early May, summer songbirds will be streaming northward; among these will be the colorful warblers, the prime quarry of veteran birders (and the most challenging species for beginners). Small and constantly on the move, they flit from branch to branch, attempting to snare insects; identification is thus often difficult. Fortunately, throughout most of April, the tree canopy is not fully developed and they are more easily observed in the relatively leafless trees.
While our Littleton, Colorado, farm hosts a pleasing variety of spring migrants, it cannot compete with the humid, deciduous woodlands of the Eastern U.S. I intend to spend part of each day on our back deck, scanning the trees and shrubs for warblers and other avian travelers, a welcome diversion from my confinement; I am also getting quite good at Scrabble!
Throughout April and into early May, summer songbirds will be streaming northward; among these will be the colorful warblers, the prime quarry of veteran birders (and the most challenging species for beginners). Small and constantly on the move, they flit from branch to branch, attempting to snare insects; identification is thus often difficult. Fortunately, throughout most of April, the tree canopy is not fully developed and they are more easily observed in the relatively leafless trees.
While our Littleton, Colorado, farm hosts a pleasing variety of spring migrants, it cannot compete with the humid, deciduous woodlands of the Eastern U.S. I intend to spend part of each day on our back deck, scanning the trees and shrubs for warblers and other avian travelers, a welcome diversion from my confinement; I am also getting quite good at Scrabble!
