A brutal cold front dropped temperatures into the teens the last two mornings. 

It will quickly warm up again. 

We had a new bird show up on 3-12-26, a "little gray job."

3-12-26 FOY Pine Warbler first spring female

3-13-26 Pine Warbler first spring female 3-14-26 Pine Warbler first spring female

My first look at it showed me a warbler's bill, grayish back and whitish underneath with white wing bars. Faint yellow streaks on its head and back were visible with a bit of light. I got as many photos as I could to help me ID the bird.

  3-12-26 Yellow-rumped Warbler compared with Pine Warbler

It's about the same size as a Yellow-rumped Warbler, without the bright yellow rump and yellow patches on the sides and crown. There aren't many warblers showing up at this point in the year, and this helped me. It was a first spring female Pine Warbler. 

I had gotten one blurry photo of a young female a few years ago, shown above. 

Back in 2014, I photographed this bird, possibly a first spring male.

This striking male stayed around for ten days in April 2022, singing and feeding before moving on. This is not a species I get to see every year. The young female has been here five days in a row. As you can see, there is quite a bit of variation in the plumage of this species!

3-12-26 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3-12-26 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3-12-26 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 3-12-26 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker came in to relish a bath before the cold front hit. 

3-16-26 Pine Warbler first spring female 3-16-26 Yellow-rumped Warbler 3-16-26 Yellow-rumped Warbler

On Monday, 3-16-26 both the Pine Warbler and the Yellow-rumped came in to feed, making it my first day this year with two warblers. 

3-15-26 Eastern Phoebe nest 3-16-26 Eastern Phoebe

Both Eastern Phoebes are here now, and the female has been busy building the nest! They were seen fly-catching in the woodland on Sunday when I took this photo. Once the cold front hit, the phoebes swooped to the deck and even to the window feeder to grab mealworms. Needs must!

3-15-26 Eastern Bluebird nest box

Both Eastern Bluebirds were seen at the nest box on Sunday morning, and the female has just started bringing cypress needles to the box. 

3-16-26 Rusty Blackbird

3-16-26 Rusty Blackbird

Rusty Blackbirds are still seen every day, sometimes a large flock of 50-60 will drop in to forage.

3-16-26 Red-winged Blackbird female

A female Red-winged Blackbird was among them one day.

3-16-26 Red-shouldered Hawk 3-16-26 Red-shouldered Hawk

On Monday, the Red-shouldered Hawk was seen throughout the day. It would perch and watch the leaves for movement. I was sitting at my desk and saw it land in the sugar maple with a field mouse in its bill, toss it up and down it in two gulps. This happened not just once, but twice, and too quickly to catch with my camera! This bird is an efficient hunter. 

3-17-26 FOY Fox Sparrow

Another new year bird, just seen about 5 pm on 3-17-26 was this lovely Fox Sparrow. They are here over the winter yet uncommon and we don't see them every year. What a beauty! 

Speaking of beauties, here is our Spring gallery of Warblers to help you be ready for them!

Spring Warblers