New Arrivals at Bennington Lake

Here it is May 15 and it was already so hot we looked for the shade.  The birds like the warm weather too because we had many returning species today – western wood peewee, eastern kingbird, Wilson's warbler, MacGillivray's warbler, lazuli bunting, orange-crowned warbler, Vaux's swift, Cassin's vireo and warbling vireo.  The great horned owl hole looked empty when we started our walk, but there was one chick sitting at the entrance when we left.  The black-headed grosbeaks, Bullock's orioles and western kingbirds were noisy, but not nearly as noisy as the house wrens and yellow warblers.  We still had to wade but it felt nice after the hot walk on the east side of the lake.  Especially nice, was having MerryLynn back with us today.  Her expertise adds much to our weekly walks.  Ginger