It's a bird's world, and seemingly never more so than spring in Minnesota.
House wrens and Baltimore orioles are very vocal. American robins and eastern bluebirds feed young nestlings, while barn swallows gather mud for their nests. Many pairs of Canada geese can be seen with young goslings. Expect the first young wood ducks to jump from their nesting boxes or tree cavities. Gray catbirds and indigo buntings are arriving, and waves of migrating warblers are passing through the treetops.
In fact, it seems warblers are everywhere. Small, active birds that often hide in the foliage, warblers go unnoticed by many people. However, most experienced birders love the warblers and look forward to their spring arrival as one of the highlights of the year. On a single day between May 12-20, if conditions are right, 15 to 20 species of these little migrating songsters can be seen. Some of the warbler species expected include blackburnian, black-throated green, Cape May, chestnut-sided, Nashville, Wilson's, and yellow.
Most warblers winter in the tropics, from Mexico and the Caribbean to South America. They feed mainly on minute insects, coming into Minnesota and places farther north for the nesting season. Although a good share of the warblers are brightly patterned and flit about in trees, some have more solid colors and work closer to or on the ground.
Jim Gilbert's Nature Notes are heard on WCCO Radio at 7:15 a.m. Sundays. He taught and worked as a naturalist for 50 years.
