Here they come!

Last night was the first good-sized movement of the spring migration, as seen in the radar image on the right. The arrival of new birds was evident on my walk down to the Milwaukee lakeshore this morning. Along the Oak Leaf Trail I had my First-through-Ninth-of-the-Year Brown Creeper (45) and one Eastern Phoebe (46). In the young woods and shrubby areas surrounding Juneau Lagoon was a pair of Northern Flicker (47) and on the lagoon itself was a lone Gadwall (48).  A single male Northern Shoveler (49) was paddling around McKinley Marina while one intrepid Tree Swallow (50) wheeled overhead. Best of the morning, though, were the close-up looks at six Horned Grebe (51)--five males in beautiful  breeding plumage and one female--very near the seawall by the War Memorial Center.  Hoping for my first Yellow-rumped of the year on the walk home!