I could not mention highlights of a year without mentioning migration, the Great Annual Migration that goes on each and every spring in eastern North America, where we get to see mobs of shorebirds lining the shorelines, and trees adorned with songbirds in their very brightest garb. I am fortunate to be involved in two major spring stop over sites in the US: High Island no the Upper Texas Coast, and Magee Marsh on the edge of the Great Lakes in Ohio. Therefore, I get to witness this staggering event every year. While some of it is predictable no two seasons are the same, with a surprise Yellow-green Vireo spicing up proceedings in Houston Audubon's Smith Oaks Sanctuary on High Island, and a lifer Henslow's Sparrow and a handful of Kirtland's Warblers keeping things interesting in Ohio.
But in spite of these surprises, it is actually the run of the mill spring fare that I enjoy the most, from the first showstopping glowing yellow Prothonotary Warbler of the spring, to the gatherings of peeps along the Texas shore, to the breathtaking Blackburnian Warbler that dares you to look away, these are all images I expect to see every year, and I would be bitterly disappointed NOT to partake in every year. Spring migration is a special event, a spectacle to behold, and should never, ever, be taken for granted. The vibrant colours, rich songs, and spectacular flocks are all things we should revel in and yearn for in those long months they are not with us....I hope to be "in the mix" once more in spring 2013, which with the wind howling, and the temperature dropping seems an age away right now!
More 2012 flashbacks on the way, though this time from farther east...
No comments:
Post a Comment