V20 N43

Bird Droppings
Dispatches from the nation’s birdwatching capital… by Seymore Thanu
When it comes to autumn migration,
I am about the last person
to call it a season. Even now, in
late November, there are birds
still migrating south and will be
until February, when the last migrating Redthroated
Loons pass. A heavy snow fall farther
north will prompt wintering Red-tailed
Hawks to head south in search of open areas
where voles are more easily seen.
When the Great Lakes freeze, Red-necked
Grebes, Lesser Scaup and other hardy ducks
are forced to find open water. It might be salty,
but in Cape May have open water all winter.
When winter finch exhaust food stocks in
the north, they are forced to relocate. I’ve seen
hordes of hungry Common Redpoll coming in
off the ocean as late as February and piling up
on the beach. Have your thistle feeders filled.
But in November and December, bird migration
remains contingent upon the passage of
a cold front and its resulting northwest winds.
Good pushes of migrating Red-tailed Hawks
are possible into December given sunny skies
and bird-driving northwest winds. I believe I
have spent half my life waiting for northwest
winds and their tribute of migrating hawks.
All in all, a life well spent.
As I write this, tomorrow promises to be
a day blessed with northwest winds and I am
anticipating the flight of the season. Hawks,
waterfowl, late-season songbirds like robins
and waxwings. Anybody can be a birder in
September when temperatures are warm, and
woodlands buzz with migrating warblers.
Last week, we had three Golden Eagles in
a single morning and three Tundra Swans that
set their wings and settled into Bunker Pond.
Tomorrow temperatures will be below the
threshold of insect comfort but won’t prevent
Tree Swallows from gliding over Bunker Pond
looking for pond-warmed insects to inhale.
Northwest winds push birds close to
shore but foul your windshield. The tiny pallid
sandpipers on the beach are Sanderling.
The dark ones flushed off the ship and jetty by
waves are Purple Sandpipers, a hardy shorebird
that has the distinction of wintering farther
north than any sandpiper. Where most
of their kin sit out the winter on tropical and
subtropical flats, Purple Sand seek out rocky
coastlines north to Greenland. It’s an energetic
tossup. Stay north where conditions are
harsh or invest the energy and migrate south.
There is no perfect answer and different birds
make different choices. It’s all about reducing
risk and finding food so come next spring you
are fit enough to move your genes forward.
December 1, 2022 EXIT ZERO Page 31