May 18, 2019
April is just a great month to be birding in Missouri. Many of the resident species return and begin nesting, shorebirds begin passing through in good numbers, and the spring warbler migration gets going making for plenty of opportunities. The MO-Birds listserve was popping with unusual birds that I couldn’t chase but it sounds like I missed quite a few good ones (Western tanager?!). So while I didn’t have a great month, it was still better than last year’s April so that’s a plus.
- Brown thrasher – singing way up high in a tree in Ballwin
- Fish crow
- Great egret – Always great to have these graceful birds back in the mix.
- Yellow-throated warbler – heard and saw a few at Snake Road in Illinois, then many more at Bennett Springs including some nice up close views.
- Northern parula – heard everywhere.
- Louisiana waterthrush
- White eyed vireo
- Northern waterthrush
- Lesser yellowlegs – of course I missed the American golden plovers and phalaropes that had been reported with the birds.
- Greater yellowlegs
- Blue-winged teal – same story. Supposedly there was a cinnamon teal and yellow-headed blackbird hanging out with these in Creve Couer, but I failed to see either of them.
- Osprey – Just like last year, I saw a lone bird passing over a busy city street.
- Ruby crowned kinglet
- Blue-gray gnatcatcher
- Cliff swallow
- Eastern kingbird
- House wren – As usual, they check out my nesting boxes but then nest in the neighbor’s yard.
- Lecontes sparrow – A surprise bird while walking near a marsh on Easter afternoon.
- Barn swallow
- Cedar waxwing
- Gray catbird
- Chimney Swift
- Little blue heron
- Sora – Lots of these at Riverlands. Tough birds to photograph. Of course I missed the bittern and Virginia rail that had been reported in same area.
- Rose-breasted grosbeak
- Ruby throated hummingbird – took forever to see my first, then I saw a bunch for a day or two.
- White crowned sparrow
Brings me up to 107 for the year. Plenty of easy birds to get so I expect May to be a decent month. Hopefully I will get to enjoy a slow hike in the spring Missouri woods and rack up some good numbers on the warblers. They always push me to improve my birding by ear. It would also be great if the rivers recede a bit and I can get back to looking for shorebirds. Either way, Missouri offers up some fantastic birding opportunities and I hope to get out and enjoy some of those.
