Hooray for May!

Okay, since it's Friday, my plan is to list the birds we've seen all week. But first, a retraction.

My Wilson's Warbler became a female Yellow Warbler as the week went on. It was seen on three different occasions, and always in the company of a brilliant male Yellow Warbler. It had a little cap of grayish-black, like a Wilson's Warbler not fully molted to breeding plumage - or as it turns out, like a Yellow Warbler not fully rid of those same dull winter feathers. I could go on and rehash why I thought it was, why I thought it wasn't, but the matter is settled and I don't want to think about it anymore!!

But we've had so much fun birding this week.
Some are species we saw briefly in the fall, and many more are brand new, since they had passed through on migration before we started watching. So, here we go:

This week's birders:
Lynn, Sue, Tom, Debby, and everyone who has noticed the feeder birds, and turkeys, geese and others while out on their lunchtime walks.

This week's birds:
boldface is new for the season, green color is also new for our list

Canada goose
Mallard (a pair on the Oyster River)
Wild Turkey
Common Loon (morning fly-over)
Great Blue Heron (afternoon fly-over)
Osprey (a pair, one carried a fish)
Red-tailed Hawk
Merlin (twice this week)
Killdeer (probably nesting on campus)
Herring Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Northern Flicker (nesting on campus)
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Barn Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
House Wren (at least two territories being established, one in front of A-21, and one at the top of the nature trail)
American Robin (nesting)
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Yellow Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Ovenbird
Common Yellowthroat
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow (nesting)

And heard but still not seen, so we won't "count" them yet:
Baltimore Oriole
Warbling Vireo