The first lawn mowing is completed and I planted part of the garden yesterday.
Last night was a "Petrel Night", the first of the season. So I guess we're committed to Spring.
Some Petrels were likely already around but last night was the first night with heavy activity and I spent an hour or so outside in the wee hours as they flittered about and chuckled and chuckled about their return.
They were certainly all, or mostly all, LEACHES STORM PETRELS (which nest here), although we do get a small percentage of WILSON'S STORM PETRELS (which do not nest here).
Other species are more or less unchanged except that KESTRELS, plus an occasional SHARP SHINNED HAWK, are culling the sparrow population daily. I see a HARRIER or two daily, but after a sweep or two of the island, they tend to move on.
The sparrows, for their part, have increased dramatically over the past couple days. The increase has been almost entirely WHITE THROATED SPARROWS.
When combined with the SAVANNAH SPARROWS, they make quite a concentration on the lawns, around the buildings and especially on the patio.
At one point yesterday I counted 263 sparrows in easy view from one window.
At another time I counted 71 sparrows excavating on our patio, an area 18 feet x 24 feet.
No new species among them: a couple CHIPPING SPARROWS; a couple SONG SPARROWS; one JUNCO and the continuing VESPER SPARROW.
-- Last night was a "Petrel Night", the first of the season. So I guess we're committed to Spring.
Some Petrels were likely already around but last night was the first night with heavy activity and I spent an hour or so outside in the wee hours as they flittered about and chuckled and chuckled about their return.
They were certainly all, or mostly all, LEACHES STORM PETRELS (which nest here), although we do get a small percentage of WILSON'S STORM PETRELS (which do not nest here).
Other species are more or less unchanged except that KESTRELS, plus an occasional SHARP SHINNED HAWK, are culling the sparrow population daily. I see a HARRIER or two daily, but after a sweep or two of the island, they tend to move on.
The sparrows, for their part, have increased dramatically over the past couple days. The increase has been almost entirely WHITE THROATED SPARROWS.
When combined with the SAVANNAH SPARROWS, they make quite a concentration on the lawns, around the buildings and especially on the patio.
At one point yesterday I counted 263 sparrows in easy view from one window.
At another time I counted 71 sparrows excavating on our patio, an area 18 feet x 24 feet.
No new species among them: a couple CHIPPING SPARROWS; a couple SONG SPARROWS; one JUNCO and the continuing VESPER SPARROW.
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