White-eyed Vireo in an Old Field

The first day of April brought much-needed April showers, after a March that was unusually dry and warm. Trees, fields and lawns are turning greener every day now, and yards and woods are dusted with the white of dogwood blossoms.

I heard the song of our first White-eyed Vireo of the season this morning, from the privet thickets in the Old Field just outside our subdivision – a percussive call with a whistled tune in the middle – “Chik! A-peri-oo chik!” The roadsides are sprinkled with dandelions, and with hundreds of tiny purple, pink, blue, white and yellow weedy wildflowers. The first big, loose leaves and vines of kudzu are snaking through the gullies and up the banks.

Lots of other birds were active, too. Among all the usual suspects, I especially noticed a Louisiana Waterthrush singing from down near the creek; Blue-gray Gnatcatchers calling “spee! spee!” from the low branches of trees in our yard; a pair of Phoebes singing and fussing in the back yard; a pair of Brown-headed Nuthatches squeaking and visiting the feeders; Brown Thrashers hunting in the grass; and very vocal Chipping Sparrows that seemed to be singing almost everywhere.

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