1st, I want to thank the various readers who take the time to send notes of thanks and encouragement for my haphazard reports.
I know there is a lot of interest in this island and I do appreciate that I have some unique and special opportunities which others like to share.
I'm not a Lister and I'm a self-professed "Lazy Birder". I simply try to convey the overall experience of a off-shore island.
Last week's wave of raptors (and Flickers) moved on and by Wednesday the raptor sightings dropped to only a couple of PEREGRINES and (briefly) one HARRIER. Thursday produced only one Harrier, again quite briefly.
Virtually all of the Flickers and most other then-present migrants moved on as well.
Dense fog closed in Thursday evening and it stayed thick throughout Friday. As is fairly usual in dull, thick weather, bird activity was subdued all day.
I'm not a Lister and I'm a self-professed "Lazy Birder". I simply try to convey the overall experience of a off-shore island.
Last week's wave of raptors (and Flickers) moved on and by Wednesday the raptor sightings dropped to only a couple of PEREGRINES and (briefly) one HARRIER. Thursday produced only one Harrier, again quite briefly.
Virtually all of the Flickers and most other then-present migrants moved on as well.
Dense fog closed in Thursday evening and it stayed thick throughout Friday. As is fairly usual in dull, thick weather, bird activity was subdued all day.
A few gulls, a couple RAVENS, a stray Flicker ...... just a really dead day.
Perhaps it was the dreary, slow nature of the day but it was late afternoon before I realized that I hadn't seen a SAVANNAH SPARROW all day.
Perhaps it was the dreary, slow nature of the day but it was late afternoon before I realized that I hadn't seen a SAVANNAH SPARROW all day.
Just the day before there would be 1 or 2 dozen feeding on the patio and lots more coming and going on the lawn and in the vegetation.
No one all day! Well, correction: I spied a single Savannah in the garden just at dusk.
Just one individual where there were dozens and dozens, an entire breeding population, the previous day.
No matter how intense the raptor activity; no matter how bad the weather; no matter how much human activity; there would always be Savannahs. Where did they go?
The following day, Saturday, a couple appeared at dawn and activity returned to normal through the day.
So why did they go into hiding for a day?
Mama Nature sure does like to play with us.
The predawn hours of Saturday revealed that quite a few migrants were dropping in.
I didn't spot anything unusual and most everything disappeared into the vegetation with daybreak.
With the dense, drizzly fog into mid-morning, everything stayed sooping wet I was disinclined to go wading through the vegetation or treading the greasy rocks to see what was out there.
Some of the most notable activity on Saturday was the nearly continuous presence of GANNETS near the island and their frequent plunge diving. It would seem that there is a continuing presence of local food.
It's now just cracking dawn, Sunday, the 17th, and there has been a strong migrant presence all night in very dense fog and nearly calm but contrary wind.
Of particular note during the night: lots of "Peeps" and Phalaropes flying over.
In the past few moments I have seen 4 BLACK THROATED GREEN WARBLERS & 7 GOLDEN CROWNED KINGLETS breakfasting on our front doorstep. They are getting the tiny Hover Flies(?) which were drawn to the outside light.
The selection of birds increased with the growing light. In recent minutes I've seen a couple of OVENBIRDS, a BAYBREASTED WARBLER, 2 BLACK & WHITE WARBLERS and several unidentified warblers on the boardwalk.
The SAVANNAH SPARROW troop on the patio is running at around 16-20, joined this morning by a LARK SPARROW.
Today's wet conditions will again be unhelpful for bushwhacking but even so, the very light wind could produce some interesting activity close at hand, especially since raptors seldom show up in foggy weather.
No one all day! Well, correction: I spied a single Savannah in the garden just at dusk.
Just one individual where there were dozens and dozens, an entire breeding population, the previous day.
No matter how intense the raptor activity; no matter how bad the weather; no matter how much human activity; there would always be Savannahs. Where did they go?
The following day, Saturday, a couple appeared at dawn and activity returned to normal through the day.
So why did they go into hiding for a day?
Mama Nature sure does like to play with us.
The predawn hours of Saturday revealed that quite a few migrants were dropping in.
I didn't spot anything unusual and most everything disappeared into the vegetation with daybreak.
With the dense, drizzly fog into mid-morning, everything stayed sooping wet I was disinclined to go wading through the vegetation or treading the greasy rocks to see what was out there.
Some of the most notable activity on Saturday was the nearly continuous presence of GANNETS near the island and their frequent plunge diving. It would seem that there is a continuing presence of local food.
It's now just cracking dawn, Sunday, the 17th, and there has been a strong migrant presence all night in very dense fog and nearly calm but contrary wind.
Of particular note during the night: lots of "Peeps" and Phalaropes flying over.
In the past few moments I have seen 4 BLACK THROATED GREEN WARBLERS & 7 GOLDEN CROWNED KINGLETS breakfasting on our front doorstep. They are getting the tiny Hover Flies(?) which were drawn to the outside light.
The selection of birds increased with the growing light. In recent minutes I've seen a couple of OVENBIRDS, a BAYBREASTED WARBLER, 2 BLACK & WHITE WARBLERS and several unidentified warblers on the boardwalk.
The SAVANNAH SPARROW troop on the patio is running at around 16-20, joined this morning by a LARK SPARROW.
Today's wet conditions will again be unhelpful for bushwhacking but even so, the very light wind could produce some interesting activity close at hand, especially since raptors seldom show up in foggy weather.
Maine birds mailing list
maine-birds@googlegroups.com
http://groups.google.com/group/maine-birds
https://sites.google.com/site/birding207
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Maine birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to maine-birds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
0 comments:
Post a Comment