Despair not. Awake from your slumber. The migrants prepare themselves in order to bring spring unto ye. Cry ?Havoc? and release the birds from the South! (OK, I?ve been reading too much Shakespeare of late. Sorry.) However, there are lots of signs that spring migration is not that far away. Consider: WILSON?s Warbler: The most common warbler in our neck of the woods. These days all birds I see have their cute black cap on. (Females in the fall did not.) CHESTNUT-sided Warbler: These have already developed lots of chestnut on their sides and some facial and head markings. (One of the most dramatic seasonal transformations among the warblers.) BALTIMORE Oriole. In the fall I saw almost entirely females and/or immatures. Now all I see are males in full adult plumage. (OK, a limited sample of late, but the change is remarkable?how many of those dull fall birds were first-year males I wonder.) TENNESSEE Warbler. I saw a male yesterday with a distinctly gray head. And this species?which was so common in the fall but disappeared in December?has now returned to our area. (The center of this species? winter abundance is Costa Rica. But before it leaves here in April it tends to move from the low-mid elevations to the mid-high elevations [that?s us!].) ROUGH-WINGED Swallows. I saw my first of the winter a week ago. This species stays mostly in the lowlands until it is ready to start migrating in March (That?s one week away!) Maybe it?s appearance up here at 5000 feet means something, I don?t know. Other Notes: BLACK-n-White Warblers. These are among the first warblers to leave Costa Rica (in early to mid-March). But they are still abundant here right now (Feb. 21). WORM-eating Warbler. I finally saw my first in CR this week. Hurrah! HAIRY Woodpecker. Would you believe this bird lives and breeds this far south? What a range for a woodpecker! From Alaska to Panama (no migration). We heard one two weeks ago at 7000 feet near the Panama border and I said ?That sounds like a Hairy.? And then we found it and it was! What a surprise. While the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker can also be found this far south (rarely), that is only during its wintering period. Reporting from Central America, Dev Joslin Monteverde, Costa Rica PS I will let you know when any ?waves? starting coming through. =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================