Early-morning showers moved eastward in perfect time for mild and pleasant day in Fishers, Indiana. A few sprinkles and a chorus of birds met five birders and their leader Olivia Bautch, director with Amos Butler, at Ritchey Woods Nature Preserve. This diverse spot was one that Amos Butler had not visited for several years, but was revisited as part of their new park explorations this spring.
The group’s first good looks came just opposite the parking lot’s tree line: a Wood Thrush, singing his heart out, curiously from the top of a tree. With the promise of a swamp ahead, the six heard many of the preserve’s breeding species in the trees above. A stop at the meadow presented conspicuously flitting passerines- a handful of Red-eyed Vireos, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a couple catbirds and a perched male Towhee.
Continuing down the path, migrant sounds taunted the birders who admired the springtime wildflowers. More catbirds, Field Sparrows, Indigo Bunting, cardinals and a heard-only Common Yellowthroat lined the bend towards the swamp loop.
Two more participants joined the group at the habitat, and it did not disappoint. Multiple Northern Waterthrush flew under and out of the boardwalk, neon American Redstart and Blue-winged Warbler provided long looks, and one participant spotted a skulking Kentucky Warbler several yards away. The species filled the space with their songs, joined by Ovenbird, Black-throated Green and Nashville Warblers, White-eyed Vireo and the distant Wood Thrush. The group nemesis might possibly have been the swamp’s Baltimore Oriole.
Elsewhere among the phlox and trillium, Eastern Phoebe, sparrows, woodpeckers and wrens delighted the group. Birding back into the parking lot, a couple participants viewed two male Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a Tree Swallow, bringing the total to 41 species. It was a gorgeous morning introducing many to a “special” spot for the first time.