Spring in New York 2

We're heading towards the end of the migration period in the SE part of New York and soon the songs will cease and the forest will be much quieter. But for now, we still have enough birdsong to keep up our interest and to let us know where to look for our warblers and others. While the symphony of song is the highlight of May, June brings in the reason for all this singing. Territories have been staked out and mates have been found. The nesting season is upon us and we can delight in watching the whole process.....if we are lucky enough to find the birds. They are quiet now, not wanting to draw attention to their whereabouts to would be predators. The nests are rarely out in the open for the same reason. And so, when we are lucky enough to see any signs of the process, we seize the moment. These moments usually manifest themselves in the forms of birds with either food or nesting material in their bills. So it was this past Friday....a chilly and rainy day. The rain worked in my favor today, however, as the puddles forming supplies the local Cliff swallows with the mud they need for their nests on the side of Stillwell Dam. I was able to watch and photograph from my truck as a number of swallows visited the mud source and flew away with dollops of mud in their bills. Spring has sprung.