autumn already?
GAIL@UMDD.UMD.EDU
Wed, 5 Aug 98 18:23:55 EDT
For shorebirders, autumn starts in July -- when the adult birds (nonbreeding
and females of those species whose males tend the nest) start south. Anyone
traveling to the Delaware Bay at this time of year will see thousands of
adult shorebirds, most starting their molt into basic plumage, but only the
odd juvenile. In late August is when the bright juvs come through, flying
south unguided by adults. Always amazing and humbling.
But autumn is starting for landbirds as well. Most have finished breeding,
although residents may be starting second (or third) broods. We actually have
a pair of Goldfinches, often late nesters, building actively in a pine tree
in your yard. In the same pine tree today -- a young Redstart foraging,
probably fledged somewhere relatively nearby, and a young Brown Thrasher,
a new yard tick for us. In a couple of weeks the flood of neotropical
migrants will start -- some of Cape May's best warbler numbers are the
last week of August.
Tomorrow I'm flying to Maine to visit friends, and hopefully to catch a
few nice local breeders (such as Roseate and Arctic Terns) as they get ready
to fly south. For the Arctic, all the way south -- we saw them last winter
in southern Chile.
Maybe next year I'll get up to Maine early enough to see Bicknell's Thrush
on Mt. Katahdin!
Cheers, Gail Mackiernan
Silver Spring, MD
gail@umdd.umd.edu