Short Report: the Arb at the Moment

Spring is all over us and I can barely manage to keep up the pace, trying to not lose my grip on birding, blogging and ... I forget, there was something else, just give me a minute to think about it ... yes, work, that's it.

I know I am waaaaay behind blogging and still have to write a nice report on last - I think it was - Monday when I went birding at Gallup Park and the Arb with Laurent. And then the next day, there were the Pine Warblers and then I went again to the Arb to see if I could find a Screech Owl which yet again is a different story and then I went again today and before I get all exhausted, here's a short summary of today's birding at the Arb.

It is so nice. Spring has really hit our coast now and I can't even remember if we had many days with such a beautiful weather like now in May 2005. Indeed one tends to find the birding quite disappointing because the weather really makes you feel like the End of May and there's not enough Warblers around for that time of year.
So where are they?

Honestly, I think spring was so fast in its northward movement that the birds just didn't manage to keep up, they just fell behind because there's only a certain amount of miles a bird can fly per day.
Some migratory birds did make an appearance however and some of today's highlights were my first Eastern Towhee of the year - that's a very neat highlight - and the Pine Warblers still being around - and - a fly-over Red-shouldered Hawk - and - quite a few Fox Sparrows - and - a female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - and - a Peregrine chasing a few migrating Turkey Vultures - and - Eastern Phoebes - and - an Albatross.

Well, I am not entirely sure about the last one, but today sure felt like an Albatross could have crossed the sky above the Arb.

I also met Andreas for the first time at the Arb today (easily recognized: a genius in photography who from a distance looks like a huge photo lens on legs) and he said he had seen a Chipping Sparrow which I did not relocate. Mind you, I still have to find my first Butterbutt of the season, so a missed Chipping Sparrows is not one of my major worries at the moment.

But despite the weather: spring has just begun and the best of times are yet to come!

Come on, you warblers, get going and speed up, will you?!