Today is what the Germans call a "Bridge Day". Well, of course they don't call it "Bridge Day", they call it "Brückentag", but it translates to just that and it means it is one of those working days that separate a public holiday (in this case May 1st) from a weekend. Everyone in their right state of mind would take such a Bridge Day off to have a short 4-day holiday, but of course the fact that people in their right state of mind would do it generally excludes me. Which is precisely why I am here at the office, working while the sky is blue, the temps are pleasing, the birds are moving - all without me - and my wife keeps calling me every 30 minutes to tell me how lovely it is outside and how sad I wasn't there with her.
To compensate for all this misery, and in case anyone else today shares my sorry fate, here's some
May P.O.R.N. (
Pictures
Of
Returning
Neotrops) from last year's trips to Ohio's Crane Creek in May, offerering quick and easy satisfaction to those desperate for a visual warbler fix but deprived of the place and time to enjoy the real thing.
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-and-White Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-and-White Warbler
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
11 comments:
I don't think I have ever seen a breeding-plumage male bay-breasted warbler. That species tends to elude me.
That's very unfortunate, John, and I hope this spring will see that changed. It's quite an impressive bird, a lot of bulk and a strong bill, too. Well, as long as you're still searching, my little pic might offer compensation and serve its purpose!
You and me both John. My Bays have always been in the fall when they look rather plain.
That little Mag is a great bird and a great shot. One of my very favorite warblers.
Such beautiful birds!!
I make it through the winter knowing that the May P.O.R.N. will happen in the spring!
John and N8: the more I blog and read other's blogs the more I am aware of just how special spring migration is around the Great Lakes. Breeding-plumage Bay-breasteds weren't even what I'd considered special, just ... well ... warblers you see each time you're at Pelee, Rondeau or Crane Creek. The non-breeding birds (sorry if that sounds harsh) don't really count as Bay-breasteds.
Mel, thanks! Can't wait to see how your blog evolves. Peru is what many call the most amazing birding country and I hope to visit one day.
Monarch: the winter 2006/2007 in Ann Arbor, Michigan was particularly nasty and I'd regularly find the inside of our apartment's window panes completely covered in ice that I had to scratch off (just like a car's windshield) to be able to see what was outside (only to discover more ice everywhere, so it wasn't even worth the effort). Working from home, I had to use gloves writing my reports on the laptop.
The ONLY thing that kept me going was the memory of Michigan/Ontario in May 2005 with the amazing warblers I saw, and that those beautiful days were only a couple of weeks away.
Oh, and of course the Snowy Owl I went to see with the incomparable owl scout Laurent...
I will think about you tomorrow on the boardwalks of crane creek, my old friend.
By the way, a certain rufous-crowned female birder inexplicably accepted to become my wife. Wedding will be in our backyard on june 21th, at the very same place we discovered together a beautiful hooded warbler last year.
I know you are super busy these days (and, even worst, this is way too late for the spring migration here), but if by chance you want to stop by for a piece of cake........
Laurent
Those are some nice photos.-It seems I don't often even get the opportunity to get good warbler photos.-That is a nice collection of them.
Laurent, that is WONDERFUL!! I'll write an email very soon!!
Thanks, Larry! Taking pictures of warblers is very easy at Ohio's Crane Creek: lots of birds at very close range and as you are confined to a slightly elevated board walk, you are usually at eye-level.
Nice shots! I have seen a few new migrants this spring as well...
Such beautiful birds!!
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