Friday, September 7, 2018

FALL BIRD MIGRATION

     Fall bird migration can be a very active time for birders let alone the birds. We are at 52 degrees latitude so there's a lot of territory north of us. We have one of the largest boreal forests north of us. The Arctic tundra and islands are also north of us, so with our local birds and those passing through, fall migration can be interesting if you're watching.

     What this post is about is the migrating birds in my yard and those in the neighborhood.

      This morning was a busy morning. Robins are in rough flocks. They are crazy. They chase one another at break neck speed. Once in a while one hits my window. Most of these are birds of the year and the red breast is frosted as we say. The red is quite dull and and more gray.

      Also this morning the Brewer's blackbirds were around in abundance. There are large flocks of mixed Brewers, rustys and grackles. This morning they helped themselves to the feeder and bird bath. Blackbirds seem to spend only a few days and then they are gone.

      There were a few chipping sparrows.

      Now I was so busy I didn't notice crows. There are very large flocks of crows...in the 1000's.

      There were smaller birds flying higher...above tree tops and I couldn't recognize them. They may have been vesper sparrows.

      Just when all this activity ended a flock of 11 geese flew over. Migrating geese can go through until Christmas. They just keep coming from the north.

      Now there are resident birds in the yard too. Chickadees, nuthatches woodpeckers, flickers and blue jays also visited this morning. 

     Since I was in the house I didn't take any photos. To be honest, I was so busy I didn't even think of a camera. Here are some photos from other years.






32 comments:

  1. I am seeing a few more Hawks in the area. My hummers are still here:)

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    1. Hawks sort of drift south every day. No big major flight. We saw 4 northern harriers today and they were just toodling around.

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  2. It's fun watching birds though I seldom get the chance. I enjoy it when I have time to sit for awhile and the birds come to my tree or my bird bath. The goose in your top photo is very beautiful.

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    1. You have the right idea to sit and let the birds do the work and fly by you.

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  3. We are getting a bit of movement, even way Down South here, with birds we haven't seen all summer appearing at the feeders, on the beaches, and in the marshes. Exciting time and a very bad time for binoculars to break. It's taken 4 weeks to find out that the part is no longer available and they can't be fixed. And I can't decide on the replacements!

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    1. Sparrows go south very early. We saw one lonely swallow today.

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  4. I enjoyed your list of migrating birds, Red. You do have quite a few! :-)

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    1. There are many more around. but they don't go through my yard.

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  5. After I took the feeders down in early summer (advised by experts here due to a finch virus) I suffered bird withdrawal until just the last couple of weeks, when some of them reappeared to strip the fruit from our trees (some kind of tiny pitted fruit that we don't eat). It was so nice to hear them again. We even had a brief visit from a couple of pileated woodpeckers! I picture your house being somewhat like the one I grew up in that was right on the Trans Canada Highway - busy and noisy, except in your case it's birds not cars and trucks going by :)

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    1. Some say take the feeders down in the summer so birds will find their own source of food.

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  6. I am both happy and sad at migration. It's a chance to see birds I don't normally see, but then, winter is here!

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    1. You have to work hard in the winter to see very many species.

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  7. This is such an interesting time of year when it comes to birds. And speaking of robins, it just dawned on me that I haven't seen any around lately.

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    1. We seem to have had more robins compared to the last few years.

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  8. Hello, I am hoping to see some migrating birds in my yard. I enjoyed this post and your bird photos. Have a happy day and weekend!

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    1. I'm trying hard to send you some birds but I don't think you're on the right flyway for my birds.

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  9. I don't know if the Canada geese who summer over here have left yet or not, but they should be soon. I said good morning to a pair of them yesterday morning on the lawn at the Supreme Court.

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    1. A surprising number of Canada geese stay over winter if there is open water.

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  10. Fun to watch the huge flocks of birds pass by!

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    1. Yes, when I was a kid in the late forties the sky would be filled with ducks.

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  11. It sounds like you are seeing quite a variety of birds! I love to see the very large groups of migrating birds as you described. Here in Missouri we still have quite a variety of birds from geese and hawks down to humming birds. It is cooler today and the humming birds are quite active flitting and chirping all over.

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  12. Thank you for sharing your archive photos, a very nice selection. I keep wondering if any new birds will turn up out back and am patiently waiting. We always get the Junco's back in the winter time.

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    1. I haven't seen a junco for a long time but they are here.

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  13. I think from what i can tell that most of our birds stay year round now.

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    1. You do have a Pacific flyway so there must be migrating birds.

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  14. I don't see migrating birds here, if they are here I guess I miss them. It's great that you get to see them each year, it must be an awesone sight to view.

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  15. It must be migration time for this infrequent blogger too. For some reason, my mind flew to Hiawatha House this morning and I had to stop by to see how you were doing. I wish I had more time for blogging and visits. I miss my people! Good to see you, Red and glad to see you are still in the groove. As always, I have enjoyed my stop in your blog yard. Must fly...

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  16. Wonder why the robins get so wacky at this time of year? Maybe they're trying to drum up the energy to migrate farther south?

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  17. Did you ever see that Burt Lancaster film, "The Birdman of Alcatraz"? Well you my friend are "The Birdman of Red Deer".

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  18. Reading this post brought back fond memories of our years living in Virginia when I could see birds more easily through our kitchen windows. Of course, there are birds here in NH, but apt living sort of lessens chances of seeing them fly by our 5th floor window.

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  19. It was a lot of fun to look for different birds in Illinois. West Nile disease seems to have wiped out the crow and blue jay population. I don't see them anymore. Not as many Cooper's hawks either. Maybe that's why the rabbit and chipmunk population has exploded.

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