Good idea, Dan, but it doesn't apply to our property. We live on the edge of the marsh and always have great birding--you never know at our house--everything from pelagic species to wood thrushes. The one constant is that migratory species come through in droves and I have been keeping records for years and never have noted a lack of orioles until this year. It may well be something cyclical, I hope, but our property is exactly the same as it was last year so that's not a factor here. In fact, I can't keep up with all the catbird activity. The GC Flycatcher was out there yesterday and has taken up his summer spot. Kingbirds are here, barn swallows are nesting, house wren is driving me nuts with non-stop singing, cardinals are nesting, etc... Every other species is back right on schedule except the orioles.
Thanks for giving this some thought, everyone.
Linda
From: Raven Watcher
Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2012 7:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Maine-birds] Re: Baltimore orioles
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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