Fw: [birders] Re: Dearborn spring bird summary

[Russell Emmons]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Russell Emmons 
To: birders at umich.edu 
Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2008 1:27 AM
Subject: Re: [birders] Re: Dearborn spring bird summary


Julie, I too recall well your last years writings regards migrants. Surely much or at least some of what you said must be relavent to our findings this past year and so far this year. The past 2 days we completed 2 of 5 Fed. USGS BBS routes we do every year.  Very discouraging, confusing and a strange mixed bag!  These 2 routes are both partly in south St. Clair and north central/ NE Macomb countys ending back up into West  St. Clair county. Granted these areas are almost all flat heavily farmed lands with increasing suburbia/subdivisions, mixed small woodlots, heavy traffic. Also both days the weather was unseasonably cold, damp, overcast, and a bit windy in the first few hours for a count of this type.
   Conspicuous by their absence though were any Vireos,  Coopers Hawk, Kestrel, Eastern Kingbirds, E. Wood Pee-Wee, E. Phoebe, Scarlet Tanager, Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher, White Breasted Nuthatch, Bobolinks, Meadowlarks, Eastern Towhee, Field Sparrow. A few species strangely were seen only 1 total in the counts : Blue Winged Warbler, Chimney Swift, Wild Turkey, Yellow Billed Cuckoo, Willow Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, Wood Thrush,  -- Including a few more common species:1 Mallard, 1 Blue Jay, 1 Tufted Titmouse,
    There were several highlights of these counts:  NORTHERN BOBWHITE  (Macomb county!), Horned Larks, Belted Kingfisher, Purple Martins, Spotted Sandpiper, Plus a few noteworthy species between stops or just after the counts:  N. Harrier, Brown Thrasher, Yellow Throated Vireo.
      Plentiful species tallied were Yellow Warblers, Cardinals, Ring-necked Pheasants,  Amer. Crow,  and of course Song Sparrows, Robins, Grackles, but probably the most numerous in this area outnumbering all other species 10 to 1 is the Red-winged Blackbird!
       Now we are off to the NLP north country to do the 3 others. It will be interesting thus to see the synopsis of these counts!

Russ Emmons, St. Clair county
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Parula100 at aol.com 
  To: birders at umich.edu 
  Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 6:04 PM
  Subject: [birders] Re: Dearborn spring bird summary




  In a message dated 6/17/2008 11:44:31 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, jcraves at umd.umich.edu writes:
    Some of you may recall that last year I wrote about the possible 
    long-term effects of the early heat followed by a prolonged frost that 
    occurred in the eastern U.S. in March and April 2007. I thought that the 
    loss of foliage due to freezing over much of the southeast -- with the 
    resultant reduction of insect prey for migrant birds -- might result in 
    direct mortality, delayed migration and consequently inability to obtain 
    a quality breeding territory, or poor physical condition on the nesting 
    grounds which could lead to a failure breed successfully, or at all.
  Julie,

  I definitely recall you writing about this. And I thought about this often as I birded at Crane Creek this spring. I have never seen such low numbers of migrants at Crane Creek. Despite birding there twice a week from mid-March until the end of May (and an entire week in mid-May), I had only one day when I had decent numbers of warblers. The only warblers I had in any numbers were Palms (large numbers on one day only)and Redstarts. There was a decent influx of Canadas late in May. I saw only one Bay-breasted all spring. I hardly saw any thrushes. 

  Sadly, I think your prediction has come true.

  Darlene Friedman
  Novi







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