Sit still on the back patio for a few minutes and you will be part of the flock as they dart from redbud to feeder to apple tree. Sometimes the juncos join them, and occasionally, a nuthatch, but the sparrows and finches are too shy.

On our walk today, on campus…not in the forest preserve as in the photo above, we came across a large flock of what I think were warblers, loud with very high pitched chatter, weaving, cutting, looping, and chasing each other. They swerve and cut so quickly I could not always keep track of their flight paths.

Other spring things: 1) the wood ducks (Aix sponsa) are back in Starin park, where there’s a big nest box high in an oak. These birds are really skittish, and well before you get close enough to photograph, will take off squealing like a stuck pig. And, 2) the spring peepers are out in full force, now in every wetland.