Migratory Bird Day Highlights - May 14 2022

Last Saturday was the spring Global Big Day and Migratory Bird Day It lines up well with peak spring migration, meaning folks out looking for birds were likely to see waterfowl, shorebirds, warblers, flycatcher and others moving through on their way to Canada or actively working on nests.

My adventures around Puckaway provided many sights and sounds of local birds and migratory birds. Right now, along the Northshore a number of cabins and homes have houes up and they are filling with Purple Martins and Tree Swallows. We have a pair of Swallows nesting in a bird house we put up, and they were the first birds I saw when stepped out at 5:30 am.



And the purple martins were picking up dislodged milfoil along the short to use as nesting materials.



Both birds are excellent insectivores, catching bugs in flight eating: flies, damselflies, bees, ants, wasps, mayflies, moths, butterflies, cicadas, and termites. Tree Swallows typically operate lower to the ground or in Puckaway's case closer to the surface of the water and the martins will catch bugs at a higher elevation. Both are handy to have around to help keep the bugs in check.

Other highlights from the day included a number of colorful friends like a Common Yellowthroat, a female Baltimore Oriole, and a Great Crested Flycatcher.



Common Yellowthroat - singing his heart out



Baltimore Oriole - gathering nesting material



Great Crest Flycatcher - perched while hawking insects

I saw lots of other great birds, many of the usual suspects: Mallards, Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, American White Pelicans, and Double Crest Cormorants. The day proved that Puckaway doesn't just suport life on or in the lake but life all around the lake. I counted 67 total species that day, 48 were found along the Northshore of the lake. The last bird I got a picture of was a Red Headed Woodpecker who came to perch in a River Birch just above our cabin.


Red Headed Woodpecker