April was a great month for birding. With all of the migrations going on right now, it‘s been so much fun to go out. I found 25 total species during the month, and had nine new lifers to add to my list. Two of my favorites started the month of strong, with Northern Flickers, and Belted Kingfisher. These two birds both have some really unique coloring, but I think the flicker is the most between them. They have so many different colors and patterns going on! I love the spotting on their belly the most, and the yellow shafting on their feathers. I would love to get a photo of a red shafted flicker sometime, but I really don’t see them very often.
Northern Flicker, Belted Kingfisher
Rock Pigeons aren’t anything super fancy, but I do think they are a beautiful bird with their striking orange eye. And speaking of orange, American Kestrels have the prettiest rusty orange plumage. Kestrels are another favorite of mine, and are definitely on my nemesis list. There have been tons of them out lately, but my one complaint is that they are always perched on power lines and it just doesn’t make for the prettiest of photos. They also get spooked very easily and it can be hard to get close. But, I love a challenge and I got some really pretty photos.
Rock Pigeon, American Kestrel
This wild turkey was a cool find, as they aren’t something I usually see in the area. There was just this one gal by herself, but I got some really pretty photos of her shining in the sun. My first lifer of the month was Green-winged Teal. These ducks are really beautiful with their rusty red head, and the dark emerald striping down the sides. And as their name implies, they have a bright flash green patch hidden in their wings.
Wild Turkey, Green-winged Teal
When I first spotted this Northern Harrier, I thought it was a Red-tailed hawk and wasn’t really focusing on it being a new lifer! I almost didn’t take any shots and I’m really glad I got what I did. I hope I can find another one sometime and get some photos of it perching in a tree. All the photos I took of American White Pelicans last year and I never managed to get any with the bump on their bill. This is a growth that both male and females get during breeding season, and after the season is over it falls off and their bill returns to normal.
Northern Harrier, American White Pelican
The Yellow-headed Blackbird is probably my favorite lifer of the year so far. I’ve never seen these birds before and I was so excited to find a few. In typical blackbird fashion, they make an absolute racket and they sound so weird! It’s almost a mechanical sound, and reminded me of Bobolinks. Swallows can be a real challenge to get photos of as they never really seem to stop moving. So as soon as I see one, even on a wire I’m going to be snapping away. The blue on these guys is so shiny and pretty.
Yellow-headed Blackbird, Tree Swallow
Mourning Doves and Chipping Sparrows are a good sign that spring is here, And I’m always happy to see both of these birds at my feeders and in the wild. Doves always make for really stunning photos when they’re sitting still in trees and on posts, soaking up the sun. Chipping Sparrows are tiny little guys, but they really pack a punch then they make their calls.
Mourning Dove, Chipping Sparrow
My next favorite Lifer for April is the White-faced Ibis. This is an unusual bird to find in Minnesota, as it’s quite a bit out of their normal migration path. I found a really small flock of these guys and had no idea what they were. The colors of their plumage is incredible with deep ruby reds and flashes of pink, green, and blue. I felt so lucky to be able to photograph them. When I first found this Vesper Sparrow, I thought it was a Song Sparrow. It was singing its little heart out and sounded so lovely. I’m glad I decided to identify it and get a new Lifer!
White-faced Ibis, Vesper Sparrow
I found both of these new Lifers right near each other in the same lake. I’ve never seen an American Avocet before and I was so hyped to get some shots. I wasn’t able to get very close to it, and hope to find some more of them soon. I’ve also never seen and American Pipit before, and it was so cute. The coloring is really interesting and I almost didn’t see it blending in to the ground.
American Avocet, American Pipit
I love Brown Thrashers, and they love to evade me, lol. They’re very fast, but a super cool bird to see. I barely had a chance to photo this guy while he flitted around in all of these tree branches. It was really fun to watch this Double-crested Cormorant catch and try to eat a little catfish. He swam around and sort of tossed it around a bit before we finally drove off and left him be. Hopefully he enjoyed his lunch.
Brown Thrasher, Double-crested Cormorant
The White-throated sparrows are really out and about right now. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many, in several different locations. I really love the patch of yellow on the face, and I really enjoy watching them forage around in the grass. Finally, after a whole year of trying to get a photo of a Swamp Sparrow, I got one! This bird eludes me at every opportunity, and this little bird just happened to land right in front of me. To say I was excited would be an understatement.
White-throated Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow
Yellow-rumped Warblers are a really unique, and very pretty little bird. I wasn’t able to get the rump in question in the photo, but it is indeed yellow! I really love photographing them. The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a really tricky one to find and photo. They’re super tiny, and really fast. I would have loved to get his ruby crown in the photo, but I was lucky to even get this one shot.
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Next up, a favorite of mine is the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. This is a really beautiful woodpecker species that I would love to see more of. They have a faint yellow on the belly, and then a striking red on the head. Another spring time favorite of mine is the Brown-headed Cowbird. They’re so cute and a little noise, but I love seeing them peck around and forage. In typical blackbird fashion they’re a cheeky little bird. And lastly, one more new lifer: the Franklins Gull. I’ve never seen these birds before and when I saw them in the field I knew they were different! They are a little bit smaller than their Ring-billed Gull friends they were hanging out with, and the black head is so cute. I really enjoyed finding them. The total birds for the year now is up to 81, on to 100!
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Brown-headed Cowbird
