I have a hunch that it's gonna be a good year for monarch butterflies. I have seen quite a few already and I am seeing eggs everywhere! Way more than I did this time last year. In the above photo you can see two eggs on the young milkweed plants in the front. If you're having trouble seeing them, here is a close up photo:

See the white speck--that's the monarch egg. Normally, I would start collecting these eggs for some monarch ranching (raising monarch caterpillars indoors and then releasing them when they emerge as butterflies) but I'm going to one more bird fest next week. I'll start when I get back from that one.

Hey, anyone want to take a last minute trip to North Dakota for the Potholes and Prairie Festival, let me know. I got a great deal on a cabin. Plus, if you say you're with the Birdchick Posse, I think you can still get the Early Bird Registration festival rate. I would have mentioned it sooner, but the offer was last minute. Don't forget, you get to meet the fabulous Julie Zickefoose and Bill of the Birds.

I found a pair of savanna sparrows singing where I saw the bobolink last week. I just really sat and listened to them for awhile, trying to really work out what they sound like in real life compared to the grasshopper sparrow I saw and heard on Friday. I think I'm going to make this the summer of sparrows for me and just really try to spend enjoying their songs. In depth brown bird enjoyment--it's a sickness, I know.

Most of the goldfinch males have finally made the transition into breeding plumage. Some birders have been lamenting that the warbler waves are done and the excitement for spring is gone, but I think color can still be found for quite some time.

Speaking of color, I think I've stumbled on a new and better name for the red-bellied woodpecker...red-eyed woodpecker! C'mon, it's easier to see the eyes than the red belly.