Spring brings the birds

OCONTO — Like most, I suspect, we grow restless staying “safer at home” as we ride out the coronavirus, doing our part to slow its spread. We continue to take relief in watching our backyard birds and going on walks to look for more birds.

Our bird feeders, mostly filled with sunflower seeds, attract northern cardinals, black-capped chickadees, blue jays, mourning doves, finches, dark-eyed juncos and, more recently, American goldfinches – yellow balls of sunshine that flit energetically from feeder to feeder. The hairy woodpecker, starlings and grackles peck away at the suet, while the robin, stationed under the suet feeder, picks up the spoils – fallen bits of suet dislodged by those with the longer stronger beaks.

I put out the wormy raspberries and mulberries I froze last year for the robins, thinking of helping them through snowy or especially cold days; someone is eating them. The hummingbird feeder went up yesterday, and a tasty orange half awaits the Baltimore oriole.

On days when we feel more restless, we head out to the Oconto Marsh and Oconto Harbor where we are always rewarded with interesting bird sightings. This year for the first time I saw ring-billed ducks at the marsh, sharing their “pond” with hooded mergansers and buffleheads. The red-winged blackbirds are always there, announcing their presence and defending their territories with their loud “conk-la-ree” calls.

We watched a northern harrier soar intently over the marsh one morning, no doubt looking for a meal. Canada geese, mallards, blue-winged teal and other ducks fly over, seemingly in a hurry to make their destinations. We frequently hear the rusty pump call of the American bittern, but rarely see this elusive bird.

A formation of three American white pelicans flew silently overhead one evening as we were leaving the marsh – a magical moment. They sported their yellow breeding plate (or bump) – a strange and prominent protrusion on their bills.

And the beauty, size and elegance of the sandhill cranes as they soar above, and then glide gracefully down into the marsh is always awe inspiring. Their loud rattling calls invoke their prehistoric origins. Like the lake sturgeon, they have graced our world for eons and with our continued help will hopefully endure through the ages.

At the Oconto Harbor, we’ve seen common loons, gulls, cormorants, scaup, also called bluebills (look closely and you will see that lovely blue), three species of mergansers (common, hooded and red-breasted), Caspian terns with their large blood red bill, and one of my favorites, the horned grebe — a lively little diving duck. And if you look across the Oconto River from the marina, you will see an active bald eagle’s nest, replete at times with adult eagles, either sitting on the nest or in a nearby tree.

Now is a great time to look for birds, as migrants continue returning from points south. Their energetic flight patterns, colors, calls and behaviors liven up our stay-at-home world. So channel that restlessness. All it takes to enjoy our birds is to put up a feeder or step outside – and maybe head out for a walk.

Cathy Carnes of Oconto is a retired U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologist who volunteers with Bird City Oconto.