Waiting for the Birds

Shared by Rachel Anderson
Naturalist at the Nature Center

rachel.anderson@nashville.gov

The first day Doug and I moved into our current home, I started a bird journal.  My first entry -- on August 31, 2001--there was a Blue-winged Warbler and a Black-throated green Warbler in a black locust tree. 

I now have nearly 20 years of observations written down – mostly about birds, but also about salamanders, wildflowers, butterflies, lichens … but mostly birds. 

My first red salamander was on Oct 14, 2001, but I didn’t find another one for 15 years! This beauty was discovered in Sept 2016, after flipping over an old railroad tie; photo by Rachel Anderson 

Some interesting patterns appear when you record phenology in one location over many years, and each spring my journal entries are particularly full of first arrivals. 

Spring after spring, Brown Thrashers arrive first, followed closely by the Blue-gray Gnatcatchers making their squeaky-chew-toy calls and the tail-pumping Louisiana Waterthrushes.  By the first week of April, these birds, plus Northern Parulas, are always present, while other species like Black-and-white Warblers and Blue-headed Vireos are sometimes seen, sometimes not. 

It’s always the male hummingbirds that arrive first at my feeders, usually two weeks before the females; photo courtesy Ronald Manley 

On the other hand, the earliest Rose-breasted Grosbeaks seen at my feeders have been females ; photo courtesy Graham Gerdeman

From my journal entries, I know any day now could mark the arrival of a solitary Scarlet Tanager in bold red and black, and one morning soon many, many Tennessee Warblers will suddenly appear, filling the air with their sharp, staccato song.   

For Indigo Buntings, we must wait until mid-April before getting a peek at their brilliant blue plumage; photo courtesy Deb Beazley 

And the familiar, rather haunting calls of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo won’t echo through my yard until May  

Flipping through my journal, I realize it’s a repeating series of appointments that I can’t wait to keep.  While all of my other social plans are put on hold and life seems suspended, my journal tells me not all of life is still right now.  Each day will bring a new, welcome and anticipated visitor to my home – all I have to do is open the door and go outside.