Tuesday, 5 June 2012

[Maine-birds] Re: Baltimore orioles

I haven't been keeping count but I'm definitely seeing/hearing few Baltimore Orioles in the Bangor/Orono area this year, and previously I've noticed little fluctuation from year to year.   There has been no significant habitat loss that suddenly occurred between this and last breeding season (when their numbers seemed normal);  there are just as many shade trees in the Little City area as there were last year, just no Orioles.  My non-expert guess is that their last breeding season was a cyclical low for whatever reason, or maybe something adverse going on with their winter habitat in Central and South America.
 
I also find it interesting that that this year there have also been no Orchard Orioles reported at places like Viles Arboretum in Augusta, where they've been dependable for several years past.
 
Sean Smith
 

Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2012 7:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Maine-birds] Re: Baltimore orioles

I wonder if "succession" is affecting areas where people have seen orioles in the past.  I know my yard used to have them in the spring but our little "hole in the woods" has grown up quite a bit and there is not as much "edge" as there used to be.  Other birds like Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Cedar Waxwing and Purple Finch have declined as cherries have been shaded out.

From my observations all of southern Maine is still in a very active process of change from the abandonment of farms decades ago with birds like thrashers, towhees and field sparrow  also less common due to habitat loss.  If it weren't for power lines these birds would be very hard to find and what appears to me to be a more severe herbiciding of powerlines in recent years has left little but junipers in those right of ways in recent years to the detriment of some of those species.  Our yard is now marginal for catbird and song sparrow as well.

Dan Nickerson
Freeport







On Tue, Jun 5, 2012 at 5:17 PM, Hank & Linda Nevins <fridge6@tidewater.net> wrote:
I'm really glad to see the subject of orioles brought up!  Five or so years ago I would have orioles in numbers at my orange feeder here in Bremen - they even nested at least once.  But I haven't had any since.  (And I had a dozen or more witnesses of those birds while we were working in my garage on the local plant sale.)  Haven't heard an oriole song in ages.  Are they perhaps what we call "local?"  I mean common in some areas and not present at all elsewhere. Thanks!
 
Linda Nevins   

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