August 12, 2008 [LINK / comment]
Early fall bird migration?
All of a sudden, the weather has changed from hot and dry almost every day to steadily mild, with just barely enough rainfall every few days to keep most plants from dying. It makes for pleasant evenings, and we have been taking advantage of it by going for long walks along Bell's Lane. (Jacqueline, who is more focused on exercise than on birds, usually covers much more distance than me.) The variety of birds I've seen there lately makes me think that the fall bird migration season has begun already, even though September is still almost three weeks away. It's striking that even though some migratory birds are packing up and leaving, Goldfinches are still in mating season. Here are the highlights from the past two evenings:
- Goldfinches (mating!)
- House finches
- Least flycatcher #
- Kingbird
- Cedar waxwing
- Redstart (F/J) #
- Catbirds (many *)
- Flicker
- Great blue herons
- Bluebirds
- Blackpoll warbler (prob.) #
- Solitary sandpiper #
Birds that are clearly migrating (i.e., are known not to nest in this vicinity) are marked with "#".
* I haven't seen that "albino" Catbird lately.
Screech Owl
A family of Screech Owls has been nesting in the neighborhood where my brother John lives (in South Dakota), and he was able to get a good picture of one in his yard the other night.