We are just emerging from our second night of patchy fog, drizzle and exceptionally heavy dew.
Both nights produced modest migratory traffic, with the daylight showing sizable flocks of CORMORANTS.
Also revealed by the daylight were an array of newly arrived warblers and sparrows.
Also revealed by the daylight were an array of newly arrived warblers and sparrows.
No surprises noted, with PINE, PALM & PRAIRIE WARBLERS and WHITE THROATED SPARROWS forming the bulk.
Two female TOWEES and two ROBINS and a BROWN THRESHER were the only stand-outs that I've spotted around the houses.
Elsewhere on the island there have been a lot of KITTIWAKES lounging around the North End when they aren't sailing around nearby.
Kittiwakes are our dominant little gull throughout the winter but they are generally much later and much more dispersed as they forage across the water. Monday I counted several flocks of 200+ and estimated that we were hosting close to 2000, certainly the largest single concentration that I can remember.
The skeletal remains of a small whale (likely a Minke) washed ashore a few days ago. Very little left but enough muscle and fat to keep gulls happy.
It's interesting to see how the ratio of adults to sub-adults is changing as the picking gets slimmer. The species is almost entirely Gr. Blk. Backed Gull and now it's almost entirely sub-adults, especially juveniles.
More and more I'm noting weak or lethargic youngsters and finding remains of the same age-class around the island; some predator victims and some not.
We know that mortality is highest with the youngest members of most any species and I suspect that a wind-fall of food like this whale is the only thing keeping the weaker, less skilled birds together and alive. I'm just seeing what usually happens on a more dispersed basis, away from prying human eyes.
Two female TOWEES and two ROBINS and a BROWN THRESHER were the only stand-outs that I've spotted around the houses.
Elsewhere on the island there have been a lot of KITTIWAKES lounging around the North End when they aren't sailing around nearby.
Kittiwakes are our dominant little gull throughout the winter but they are generally much later and much more dispersed as they forage across the water. Monday I counted several flocks of 200+ and estimated that we were hosting close to 2000, certainly the largest single concentration that I can remember.
The skeletal remains of a small whale (likely a Minke) washed ashore a few days ago. Very little left but enough muscle and fat to keep gulls happy.
It's interesting to see how the ratio of adults to sub-adults is changing as the picking gets slimmer. The species is almost entirely Gr. Blk. Backed Gull and now it's almost entirely sub-adults, especially juveniles.
More and more I'm noting weak or lethargic youngsters and finding remains of the same age-class around the island; some predator victims and some not.
We know that mortality is highest with the youngest members of most any species and I suspect that a wind-fall of food like this whale is the only thing keeping the weaker, less skilled birds together and alive. I'm just seeing what usually happens on a more dispersed basis, away from prying human eyes.
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