Well, it's definitely beginning to look a lot like Fall as the reports trickle in about departing Hummers, arriving warblers and other such birdy happenings.
For the past two weeks, here on the island, the air has had "that feel" and the grass never completely dries.
Three weeks ago the patio was over-run with SAVANNAH SPARROWS, from what seems to be a banner year with lots of apparent third broods.
There were still a handful of PUFFINS feeding late offspring and the first MONARCH BUTTERFLIES were refueling on a decent bloom of PURPLE ASTER.
Random wandering birds came and went but nothing surprising and rarely more than a singleton of any species.
The past two weeks produced very few migrants, save for one foggy-night flight with a modest fall-out.
This past week did see some of those small unique scenarios that catch one's attention.
I noticed a large-ish songbird motoring down the island like there might be a predator around. Turned out to be a female COWBIRD.
In a couple seconds the hunter appeared; an apparent juvenile PEREGRINE. But rather than the blazing speed, this guy was almost "rowing", as if he was just sightseeing.
The pair proceeded to circle the house a full 3 times. Then, after the third orbit, they both casually broke off and went about their own business. The Peregrine went to harass a FLICKER while the Cowbird went about feeding, completely unconcerned, in the middle of the lawn.
Another day I watched first a Peregrine and then a MERLIN use the same perch to dine on YELLOW BILLED CUCKOO and NIGHTHAWK.
That same day saw at least 4 other Nighthawks around the island. I accidently flushed 2, nearly stepping on them. I managed to spot the other 2 in time to avoid flushing. Both were content to hold their ground even though I passed within 10 feet.
CEDAR WAXWINGS keep showing up, usually only one or two.
On Thursday I noticed 3 flying around, sort of touring the island in a lumpy circle.
When they made the second orbit there were 4. Apparently picked up a straggler.
Next orbit there were 5. Another orbit, another Waxwing.
They made 9 orbits about 1/4 mile in diameter, reaching a total of 12 Waxwings. Then everyone did a "victory" lap and the flock dispersed all over the island. Weird, but interesting to watch.
This week past saw Nighthawk traffic well above normal. No groups but lots of singles passing, resting and hawking a few bugs.
I spotted one of those apparently feeding at high altitude (over 500 feet) when it was nearly pitch dark. It also drew the attention of an adult Peregrine who seemed intent on dining fashionably late, in fact, the latest I think I ever saw a falcon hunting.
I wasn't giving the Nighthawk very good odds with it being so totally exposed. I was wrong, though. The falcon made a fast pass; the Nighthawk made one almost lazy roll & flip; falcon departed and hawk returned to feeding. And all in 10 seconds or less.
Makes you wonder what each was thinking and how many other quick little oddities play out around us without our notice.
Curiosities aside, the migrants increased as the last week waned. By early Thursday, flycatchers and warblers were common place, the first Flickers were arriving and we had a handful of non-Savannah sparrows.
Hurricane Larry completely missed us, save for some modest swells, and the separate heavy rain system Thursday night stayed to our north. We received very little precipitation, mostly fog and quite light winds. So we had a rapid clear-out Friday, with the sun shining when it set.
So with the benign weather, we saw migrants moving.
At least 9 OSPREY paused briefly with 1 or 2 staying Friday night. These Fish Hawks seldom appear in the spring but are regular every fall and frequently over-night. One fall an Osprey sat out over two days of rain storm on our doorstep railing. It only moved to face into wind shifts.
The first wave of FLICKERS arrived Saturday, the 11th, followed closely by a couple Peregrines, at least 2 Merlins and a HARRIER.
Peregrines and Harriers continued throughout Sunday, September 12th. It was near impossible to sort the new arrivals from the re-sights. Some "departing" birds will fly well out over the water and then suddenly return to the island. My best guess for the day is 6 Peregrines and 4 Harriers.
There was a little spurt of ORIOLES back in August and now there are a few more: 2 ORCHARD ORIOLES & 3 BALTIMORE ORIOLES seen Sunday.
None of them bothered with oranges or grape jelly but one Baltimore made itself nearly invisible gleaning insects in the garden. Our carrots are very big and, as is common with mature root crops, the carrots are exposed above ground by a couple inches. At times, the orange-green bird was perfectly camouflaged amid the orange carrot roots and their bushy green tops, invisible only when it moved.
Another discovered the Hummingbird feeder.
Likewise, there was a wave of HUMMINGBIRDS & BUTTERFLIES a fortnight ago and another this past weekend.
August had a variety of butterfly species, dominated by Monarchs but included at least a couple COMMON BUCKEYES. (It's only the second year that I've seen Buckeyes here.)
Yesterday (Monday) morning started producing Monarchs around 10 o'clock, picking up into the afternoon.
There was a lot of milling around but little feeding. Most were powering southwest, towards Southern Maine, and against the 20 kilometer breeze.
By 2 o'clock I tried to get a sense of numbers because there were clearly more than I'm accustomed to seeing, even on a good day.
Looking up the field, at one point I counted 26 in the air.
Through the afternoon they streamed westward at never less than 1 per minute, often 4-6 per minute. Even allowing for those circling back, I estimate that somewhere between 300 and 400 passed through.
As sunset approached, I assume that those still here went to roost. Sometimes a lot will cling to the side of the house but no sign of that tonight. I checked all of the likely places at about 4 A.M. but no joy.
I know that some purists will object to butterfly reporting on a bird site but here's the hook.
I watched a Baltimore Oriole catch, dismember and eat a Monarch. I saw the same feat out here a few years ago.
On both occasions the Oriole seemed to quite enjoy their meal. Accident? desperation? Learned behavior? Can the birds distinguish less toxic butterflies?
Hummers, as would be expected, are entirely female/young, with most now gone through. Still, I did see 5 today.
My first impression was that the Purple Aster was poor this year but the bloom is just spread over a longer period. That's likely a good thing for the migrants looking to refuel.
As mentioned before, Savannah Sparrows are ubiquitous here as prolific resident breeders. They will remain the dominant species until they migrate but other species are now being represented, albeit in smaller numbers.
Sunday presented 9 sparrow species on our patio: SAVANNAH, SONG, CHIPPING, WHITE THROATED, SWAMP, LINCOLN'S, GRASSHOPPER & LARK SPARROWS, JUNCO and sparrow want-to-be, BOBOLINKS.
Black bird species are scarce: a couple female RED WINGED BLACKBIRDS & a couple COWBIRDS. We don't get a lot of the unpopular Blackies (Starlings, Grackles and such) but there's been notably few so far this year.
Warbler variety is increasing. YELLOW, CHESTNUT-SIDED, MAGNOLIA, BLACKBURNIAN, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, BLACK-THROATED GREEN, YELLOW RUMPED, PALM, BAY-BREASTED, CANADA & BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS joined NORTHERN PARULA, OVENBIRD, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH and REDSTART. No big numbers but lots of puzzling over juvenile & non-breeding plumage.
Shorebirds are typical for here: a variety of common species but only a few individuals. Small groups of SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, RUDDY TURNSTONE, LEAST SANDPIPER are usually foraging in the kelp and wrack decaying at the high-tide line. A few SPOTTED SANDPIPERS are also still hanging around.
Larger shorebirds, such as WILSON'S SNIPE, YELLOWLEGS & WOODCOCK are passing through now and then, with 3 OYSTERCATCHERS doing a fly-by closing out August.
Aquatic birds are dominated by thousands of HERRING & GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS with a rare GLAUCOUS well hidden in the crowd. It's a bit early to see RING-BILLED & ICELAND GULLS and small gulls out here.
Only a few COMMON EIDERS: a handful of black-and-white second-year males, some FOY and a few females scattered about in little groups for a total of (maybe) 2 dozen.
Other than 2 SURF SCOTERS that appeared for one tide, any other ducks have just been fly-bys.
There's been almost no Loons and just a few DOUBLE CREASTED CORMORANTS.
GANNETS show up around the island pretty much every day.
Although there's an occasional pause for a plunge dive, they seem to be migrating.
Half or more are young-of-the-year. The rest look to be evenly divided as adult and 2nd year.
I haven't noticed any ALCIDS on the island for a week or more and virtually none on the water.
Lots of GREY SEALS hanging around, including one obvious shark survivor. It has suffered massive tissue loss from mid-back to tail flippers but appears to be healing and looks to be able to swim okay.
It takes a big animal to cause a wound like that on a 300+ pound seal.
It's now about 2 hours 'til sunrise. Although checking around the station didn't produce butterflies, I did see a few sparrows and warblers, mostly hunkered down and fluffed up, as well as several Flickers. The Flickers tend to cling to buildings, tucked into corners and crevices.
There does seem to be a strong migratory movement tonight so there should be some new arrivals showing, come Sun-up.
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