Well, the dying hurricane passed through ....... actually nearly missing us ....... a bit of a Teddy Bear as weather goes.
Our wind maxed out at about 40 knots ( Kph) and rain was modest at maybe 1/2 inch (10 cm), even though we were on the wettest side of the storm.
Bird activity remains low, with virtually no warblers, few raptors and few surprises of any sort.
The couple of young COWBIRDS and single ROBIN continue.
The overall number of sparrows hasn't diminished but SAVANNAH & SONG SPARROWS are giving way to WHITE THROATED SPARROWS.
Our wind maxed out at about 40 knots ( Kph) and rain was modest at maybe 1/2 inch (10 cm), even though we were on the wettest side of the storm.
Bird activity remains low, with virtually no warblers, few raptors and few surprises of any sort.
The couple of young COWBIRDS and single ROBIN continue.
The overall number of sparrows hasn't diminished but SAVANNAH & SONG SPARROWS are giving way to WHITE THROATED SPARROWS.
We've picked up a couple more CHIPPING SPARROWS and yesterday I spotted my 1st LARK SPARROW for this fall. Both species are regular visitors both Spring and Fall.
There's been a female BALTIMORE ORIOLE frequenting the patio for 3 days now. Oddly enough it's feeding on WHITE MILLET and refusing even shelled sunflower seeds after mouthing them. It's also ignoring dishes of GRAPE JELLY.
PURPLE FINCHES & GOLDFINCHES remain strong and perhaps have increased a bit.
RED BREASTED NUTHATCHES also appear to be up slightly, with 1 or 2 around the house more or less continuously but some being sighted at various points around the island. My guess is 10 to 20 for the whole island.
Two young CEDAR WAXWINGS arrived yesterday, post-storm, and one of them is currently gleaning insects around our kitchen window. It's unperturbed by me just inches away on the opposite side of the glass. Interesting to watch their speed and technique at less than 1 foot.
I'd love to know how animals, in particular birds, perceive glass. Even when mirroring and glare are taken into account, sometimes they seem oblivious to anything through glass while other times even the tiniest movement will draw sharp attention, even panic.
Raptors continue to filter through. MERLINS slightly outnumber SHARP SHINNED HAWKS with probably a half dozen plus for each species each day. Merlins have been pretty active in quite poor weather, including rain.
There are at least a couple HARRIERS daily along with 1 or 2 PEREGRINE FALCONS.
Peregrines braved the weather both before and after the storm with one climbing into the beginning rain and 35 knot wind late Tuesday and departing southward.
Another was on the wing at dawn Wednesday, circling, and making rapid powered flight high into the scud clouds before also heading to the south'ard.
On the water, EIDERS remain sparse and scattered with on more than 20 here at any time.
DOUBLE CREASTED CORMORANTS are foraging but mostly as singletons and very near shore. Small flocks of 15 to 20 are seen daily, mainly headed down the coast as apparent migrants.
I often pass over RAVENS since the "pair" are seen here pretty much every day, year-round.
However, I have made reference to their pseudo raptor behaviour and how the Alcids (and other birds) frequently react to a Raven exactly as they would to an Eagle or Falcon.
Monday, I again saw this raptor trait displayed as a Raven tried to get a FLICKER. It was a full-on, aerial "dogfight" style pursuit with Raven attacking Flicker for nearly 3 minutes.
Although the Raven's performance compared well to Peregrine chases where prey is forced out over water and to ever increasing altitude, the Flicker eventually escaped from the high-altitude, over-the-water trap where raptors often win.
With no trees or even large bushes here, wind sweeps across the island and tends to keep birds down into the vegetation, both for shelter and to find their food. That may be the reason for our dearth of warblers and kin. With light(er) wind in the forecasts, we'll see if anything interesting emerges in the next day or two.
There's been a female BALTIMORE ORIOLE frequenting the patio for 3 days now. Oddly enough it's feeding on WHITE MILLET and refusing even shelled sunflower seeds after mouthing them. It's also ignoring dishes of GRAPE JELLY.
PURPLE FINCHES & GOLDFINCHES remain strong and perhaps have increased a bit.
RED BREASTED NUTHATCHES also appear to be up slightly, with 1 or 2 around the house more or less continuously but some being sighted at various points around the island. My guess is 10 to 20 for the whole island.
Two young CEDAR WAXWINGS arrived yesterday, post-storm, and one of them is currently gleaning insects around our kitchen window. It's unperturbed by me just inches away on the opposite side of the glass. Interesting to watch their speed and technique at less than 1 foot.
I'd love to know how animals, in particular birds, perceive glass. Even when mirroring and glare are taken into account, sometimes they seem oblivious to anything through glass while other times even the tiniest movement will draw sharp attention, even panic.
Raptors continue to filter through. MERLINS slightly outnumber SHARP SHINNED HAWKS with probably a half dozen plus for each species each day. Merlins have been pretty active in quite poor weather, including rain.
There are at least a couple HARRIERS daily along with 1 or 2 PEREGRINE FALCONS.
Peregrines braved the weather both before and after the storm with one climbing into the beginning rain and 35 knot wind late Tuesday and departing southward.
Another was on the wing at dawn Wednesday, circling, and making rapid powered flight high into the scud clouds before also heading to the south'ard.
On the water, EIDERS remain sparse and scattered with on more than 20 here at any time.
DOUBLE CREASTED CORMORANTS are foraging but mostly as singletons and very near shore. Small flocks of 15 to 20 are seen daily, mainly headed down the coast as apparent migrants.
I often pass over RAVENS since the "pair" are seen here pretty much every day, year-round.
However, I have made reference to their pseudo raptor behaviour and how the Alcids (and other birds) frequently react to a Raven exactly as they would to an Eagle or Falcon.
Monday, I again saw this raptor trait displayed as a Raven tried to get a FLICKER. It was a full-on, aerial "dogfight" style pursuit with Raven attacking Flicker for nearly 3 minutes.
Although the Raven's performance compared well to Peregrine chases where prey is forced out over water and to ever increasing altitude, the Flicker eventually escaped from the high-altitude, over-the-water trap where raptors often win.
With no trees or even large bushes here, wind sweeps across the island and tends to keep birds down into the vegetation, both for shelter and to find their food. That may be the reason for our dearth of warblers and kin. With light(er) wind in the forecasts, we'll see if anything interesting emerges in the next day or two.
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.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/maine-birds/e2bca9dd-348c-4d32-a18d-9e4e74e6e57do%40googlegroups.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment