Microscopic Menace catch-up time

I had 90% of this post finished up when the tab decided to crash without saving anything I had written.  This will probably end up being a "long story, short" post then.

February I didn't manage to hit a new high for the month.  The water stayed frozen  over so waterfowl ended up not being an option for the backwater here.  I also only managed a tie of 22 species for a day.  For some reason I was thinking I hit 25 in a day, but eBird doesn't reflect that in my summary.  Maybe when I pull the data I can get it to make sense.  

March turned out much better.  60 species for the month, and a new high of 40 species in a single day on March 8th.  Well above the 50 and 33 as my previous.  I also finished the month as the leader for the year, and the month in the state.  Not that it will/would last for long.  

April has started out good as well.  I have been a little disappointed the waterfowl hasn't been as diverse as I expected.  Still high numbers of Ring-necked Ducks, but no Northern Pintail, Greater Scaup, Canvasback or Ruddy Ducks have shown up in the backwater.  

Highlights from the past 8 weeks since my last post.  

• Sharp-shinned Hawks have been a pretty regular bird at the feeders.  I've seen several attempts at the feeders happened.  A couple of "successful" passes with Cardinals as the unfortunate victims.  One I caught a flash streaking from the East and as I looked up the hawk was doing a quick 180 right after it had very easily picked off the Cardinal from the platform feeder.  Another Hawk went after the feeder and missed, headed up to a tree branch, but right before it had landed I heard something smack a window.  The hawk quickly reversed course and a dozen feathers told the final tale there.  
• A Cooper's Hawk literally exploded a Mourning Dove under the feeder one day.  Again I catch a flash out the corner of my eye, and see just a ton of feathers just hanging in the air, and the Hawk flying off with what was left.  Another Cooper's Hawk I was clued in to by a frozen Red-bellied Woodpecker on the side of the tree.  As I peeked around the curtains a Coop was sitting right on top of the feeder, all the while a Fox Squirrel kept feeding on the ground right under it.  
• An American Woodcock was flushed from the bottom of the valley as I walked the yard.  
• The cismontanus Dark-eyed Juncos continued, although the male was not seen but a handful of times, whereas the female was nearly a daily visitor.  
• The best highlight of this time period was a new Yard bird.  I heard a Common Loon calling the morning of 3/31.  It sounded like maybe it was flying out of Beadle Lake.  Hey "Heard Only" counts!!
• April 8th I have managed to tie my April high with 39.  Pretty sure I had more.  I think a flock I saw was likely some Cedar Waxwing, and I thought I might have heard one "Peent" from American Woodcock.  Just not confident enough that I could count them.  Still have plenty of month left though.