For an hour and a half each morning for the last couple days, I had been looking for birds in the beautiful short-grass meadows along sections of Mill Creek in farmland only a mile, or two, south of New Holland, Pennsylvania. The birds I saw and their activities were typical of early April in this region.
Loose flocks each of American robins and purple grackles were picturesque on the lush, green grass. Both species were looking for invertebrates among the grass roots in the pastures they dominated. The robins were particularly abundant, and present in most every meadow I visited. They have adapted well to short-grass lawns and pastures to find food, especially since they originally lived in woodland edges and clearings, and most of their thrush relatives are still woodland birds.
I saw three species of waterfowl, Canada geese, mallard ducks and wood ducks, on most all the meadows. Presumably, those birds will nest there, using the creek for navigation and part of their food supply. I saw a few pairs of Canadas together, but also a couple female geese on their nests incubating eggs. Male Canadas guard their mates and eggs, and, later, help raise the four to six goslings per family.
I saw a few pairs of mallards, but also a couple groups of bachelor drakes, indicating their mates are setting on concealed, grassy nests on the ground. Female mallards are well camouflaged, which allows them to blend into their surroundings to the point of being invisible until they move. Not being noticed by predators, allows mallard mothers a better chance at raising ducklings.
And I saw a beautiful pair of wood ducks swimming in the creek in one little patch of trees and shrubbery along Mill Creek. Though forest birds, woodies adapted to less than woodland conditions to raise young. They still nest in tree cavities, however. Wood ducks are along Mill Creek in intensely cultivated cropland because of farmers erecting bird boxes in patches of trees along waterways, including this one.
A few male red-winged blackbirds were on territory in some of the meadows I visited. When perched on tall grass, a cattail, or the twig of a shrub, they often raised their feathers, which emphasizes their red shoulder patches, and sang "konk-ga-reee" to establish territory, repel males of their kind and attract females for breeding.
Pairs of red-wings will eventually raise young in the taller, grassy or reedy plants in some of these cow pastures. Females build each grassy cradle on a few cattail or tall-grass stems a couple feet above the ground or water level.
I saw about a dozen tree swallows skipping along in mid-air here and there and feeding on flying insects. I first noticed them by the flash of white on their bellies that give away their presence. Tree swallows are the earliest of north-bound swallows in spring. But many of them will summer in pastures here to raise young in tree cavities, abandoned woodpecker holes and bird boxes erected especially for them.
I spotted a couple pairs of eastern bluebirds, one in each of two meadows with a few tall trees and shrubbery. The bluebirds were perched on twigs and fences and dropped to the grass to catch small invertebrates. But soon they will begin to hatch offspring in tree and fence post cavities, deserted woodpecker holes and in bird boxes erected especially for them, all in pasture habitats.
I saw one pair of killdeer plovers trotting about and picking up invertebrates to eat in each of two meadows. Each pair of these inland shorebirds might hatch four young on the gravel of a gravel bar along Mill Creek, which is their species' original nesting niche. Today, many pairs of killdeer have adapted to hatching young on gravel parking lots, driveways and roofs, which has increased their population.
A red-tailed hawk soared over one meadow in its quest for prey animals, particularly meadow mice. And a male belted kingfisher flew up Mill Creek, possibly looking for schools of killifish minnows in the creek.
A few kinds of permanent resident, thicket birds were spotted in little, overgrown areas of a couple of meadows. I noticed a pair each of song sparrows and Carolina chickadees, two male cardinals chasing each other in a fight over nesting territory, one male house finch and one American goldfinch. Probably all these birds, but the chickadees, will stay in those thickets to raise youngsters this summer. Song sparrows seem particularly happy to nest in thickets near waterways and ponds.
And one clump of tall trees along Mill Creek in a pasture harbored an American kestrel, a downy woodpecker and a red-bellied woodpecker. And it's possible those three species will stay in that grove of trees to hatch young.
Lots of birds can be spotted in spring. We need only to get out and look for them.
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