by Mac Cone,
Wild Birds Unlimited,
Montgomery

For those who enjoy feeding wild birds as a year-round hobby, spring is perhaps the most exciting time of year. As breeding time begins, feeding stations in many backyards become battle zones as birds start to establish their territories. Natural food sources such as seeds and berries are not as available to birds during this season; fighting and courtship behavior at your feeders becomes more prevalent. Many who feed birds at this time also have birds nesting in their backyards. This is the time that we look for our birds to start checking the bird housing we have provided for them. Purple martins, bluebirds, wrens and chickadees all provide hours of enjoyment during the nesting season. I have enjoyed for many years watching chickadees grab seeds from the feeder and fly to a nearby nesting box to feed their young.

Spring also heralds the arrival of the neo-tropical migrants, which include some of the most striking visitors to our yards: buntings, tanagers, grosbeaks, orioles, hummers, warblers and more. Every year I get lots of calls from excited customers who are amazed at the appearance of indigo buntings at their feeders usually during the month of April. The male indigo is bright blue all over. Indigos nest in rural areas of Alabama where they can occasionally visit feeders but, during migration, these birds can appear in suburban backyards-sometimes remaining for a week or more. Another migrant that always creates quite a buzz is the rose-breasted grosbeak. Last year I was lucky enough to have two males visiting my feeders. These birds do not nest in the south but many people do enjoy their visits during April. I have even had reports of summer tanagers visiting hummingbird feeders during migration.

This annual spectacle, while creating backyard excitement, also triggers a human migration to the Alabama gulf coast during April, made up of those hoping to have close encounters with the birds arriving after their journey across the Gulf of Mexico. Binocular-toting folks from all over the U.S. pump millions into the economy of Dauphin Island and other birding hot spots along the coast. These are the birders. Let me attempt to clarify my definition of a birder for those who may be confused. Many birders may have started as backyard bird enthusiasts who became curious about the identities and habits of the birds coming to their feeders. Next comes the purchase of binoculars and a field guide-which, in turn, leads to the life list. The life list is the list that you keep of each species of bird you have seen. If you have a life list you have crossed the line. You are now a birder. You may go on to keep a list of birds that you encounter on your trip to Dauphin Island. You will add lifers to your list and begin convincing your spouse that vacation plans should be made to encounter more lifers, etc.