After the excitement of May, June birding can be a bit on the boring side as birds settle down to the serious work of nest building and raising young. I still saw plenty of fun and exciting (to me) bird activity between our “local” warblers, continuing summer birds and a surprise backyard visitor.
Gray Catbird sings a beautiful song and fluffs its feathers. This may be a statement to look big in defense of territory or it could be in hopes of attracting a mate but either way, it’s lookin’ fine.
Common Yellowthroat sings on a wire. A Common Yellowthroat is often heard more than seen, with many preferring to hide in leaves or tall grasses…at least here in Ohio. So when I see one out this much, I enjoy the rare treat especially seeing it sing.
Yellow Warbler singing it’s lovely “I’m so sweet, I’m so sweet” tune. Most of the warblers we see in May keep going north to Canada as their breeding territory but we have plenty of Yellow Warblers that stay the summer in Ohio. I love their cheery summer tune and bright color.
My surprise backyard visitor was a Red-tailed Hawk. I live in a suburb and don’t expect to see a hawk in my backyard with the exception of an occasional Cooper’s Hawk. But this visitor stopped in and made the American Crows who usually hang out there quite angry.