Spring peepers, bellflowers, spring beauties, early warblers, hummingbirds, and the musty-fresh smell of mulch — April brings hope, beauty, and new beginnings - pretty good reason to step away from world politics right now. There is plenty to observe this month for birders and kin.

Walk into the woods on any mild spring day and the amphibians will greet you with their morning and evening chorus, whatever your favorite Bucks County park may be. Virginia bluebells have laid a pretty blue-and-green carpet along the trailheads of Tyler State Park — worth a muddy pair of shoes. You might catch a pine or palm warbler perched on sun-lit branches at Churchville Nature Center, and a phoebe or two has likely already claimed a nesting site in your patch. It is still not too late to catch the ducks on their northward journey across the lake shores of Nockamixon or Peace Valley, and you might just spot a Louisiana waterthrush picking its way along the larger streams and creek banks — somewhere along the Delaware Canal or Neshaminy Creek. Later in the month, you can hear or watch yellow-throated warblers singing their hearts out for a mate from sycamore branches anywhere along the banks of the Delaware from Yardley to Riegelsville. Then comes an onslaught of warbler songs as the month winds down. Just step out and immerse yourself in Bucks Birding!

If you need company, here are some bird walks to join:

• Saturday Peace Valley walks start at 8 am from the nature center. Leaders: Mike Smith and Karin Islet. (Free / no registration)

• Saturday Churchville NC bird walks start at 7 am from the parking lot; walks are led by Carol Fitzpatrick. (Free / no registration)

• Saturday Silver Lake NC bird walks start at 8 am and are led by Doug Filler. (Free / no registration)

• Friday Warrington Warbler walks start at 7 am from the Lower Nike parking lot and are led by Vin Pannerselvam. (Free but register)

Want something more for the whole day? Join us for a field trip to Belleplain State Forest on April 18th. This trip requires registration here to keep the group small for a better birding experience.

Bird Talk — This month's speaker is Jennie McFarland from Tucson Bird Alliance. She is the Director of Bird Conservation at Tucson Bird Alliance, co-coordinates the Arizona Bird Areas Program with Tice Supplee, and also coordinates the Tucson Bird Count, a city-wide urban spring bird count. Mark your calendar for this exciting talk — April 28th, 6:45 pm.

PA Bird Atlas 3 - If you are an "atlaser," please check out the breeding code tool for appropriate breeding codes to use in PA. Lot of possible/confirmed codes opened up (ducks, swans, woodpeckers, owls, etc.). No warblers or any migrants yet (not even probable codes). For more information on breeding code please see: https://ebird.org/atlaspa/about/breeding-behaviors-codes.

If you are not an “atlaser” yet, please consider becoming one — it is a great way to bird and grow your birding brain (Read more here to participate in PBA3- https://ebird.org/atlaspa/home).

Any questions can be directed to the Bucks County Coordinators, Erich Boenzli or Barb Stollsteimer at PBA3.Bucks@gmail.com.

Bird Collision We have started Season 3 of the Bird Safe Doylestown bird collision monitoring program. If you would like to participate, please visit our conservation page and register as a volunteer. Any questions on bird window collision directed to the Bird Safe Bucks coordinator, Vin Pannerselvam at bucksbirders@gmail.com.

Conservation Corner Thank you so much, Bucks Birders, for your contributions toward Chimney Swift towers for Yardley and Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve. We will have a little bit more swifts in Bucks County because of you! Any conservation related questions can be directed to Vicky Mahmoud at bucksbirders@gmail.com.

Lights Out! Migration season is here. Please turn off your outdoor lighting when not in use, and keep it off from 9 pm to 6 am during migration nights — April 1st through June 15th.