Crocus blooming. Birds on the move. American Robins, Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds in the yard. Song Sparrows singing. And yesterday, in Forest Park, my first Purple Martin of the year.
I spotted the Purple Martin, a male, as I was walking in to the office, around 10:00 a.m. He was perched atop the nesting house surveying the area near the skating rink.
In mid afternoon a lone Trumpeter Swan in Jefferson Lake, keeping aloof from the Mallards and Canada Geese, was an unsual sight for the park.
Life bird
I finally saw my first Short-eared Owls. After reading that a group of 30+ had been reported at Peabody River King FWA in St. Clair County, Illinois, earlier in the week, I set out after work on Friday to see them. Only three or four showed up that late afternoon, but they were easy to see flying and perched in trees and on the ground. My scope gave me a look at two within the same view, but at 22x I couldn’t see as much detail as I would have liked. However, another St. Louis area birder kindly let me look through his scope, which was zoomed to high power. The detail was crisp, and the intensity of the owl as it scanned the field showed clearly.
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