We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
We had a major incoming flight of warblers Friday night, so Sat. morning was full of warbler calls. I only know the calls of the most common warblers, but it is better to learn their calls rather than straining your neck for an hour to peer into the treetops.
Interestingly, that same flight left last night and there is nary a warbler this morning. Birders love those big flights that arrive overnight.
If you have poor memory for bird song, there is an iPhone app for that: Merlin Bird ID. It is not 100% accurate - but what is?
Saw a flock of around a dozen this morning which I believe are the first arrivals here from their home grounds in Central America. These acrobatic fliers are the most common of American swallows. If you have an open barn, you will get their poo all over your tractors and stuff. We would always put a tarp over the tractor.
You can read about these cool birds at All About Birds: Barn Swallow
I also saw my first Tree Swallow of the season this morning.
It's not about "climate change", it's about the loss of farm fields in the Northeast. Raggedy pasture is not much of a thing anymore. Pastures are back to woods, or to suburban sprawl, so these species are dropping in population.
When I was a kid, I would hear Bobolinks singing all the time during their migration from Argentina to the north. Spink spank spink.
Another pasture bird is the Eastern Meadowlark. Neither of these like lawns, but prefer 1000s of acres of hayfields and pastures.
The Eagle chicks I have been watching grow quickly. At this point, each chick eats about two fish daily. The parent drops the fish on the nest and the youth feed themselves. They seem to digest bones, fins, everything.
It is interesting to try to identify the species of fish. Some of the Catfish must be stolen from a fish farm.
Also interesting is that eagles are larger, when fledged, than mature adults. As they mature, their feathers shorten and the bird becomes thinner, sleeker.
What does their future hold? About half of eagles do not survive their first year. By maturity (about 5 years), only 1 out of 10 make it. It looks like a nice life, but it is hard.
It is amusing to see the eagle chicks shooting their white poo out and over the top of the nest. It is not poo, it's a mix of poop and concentrated urine being shot our of their cloaca.
Why do most birds never bother drinking water? Most of their food, unless fully-dried, is mostly water. The fish and red meat those eagles feed on is at least 75% water.
Bald Eagles are a type of sea eagle - primarily fish-eaters - although they will catch ducks, sea gulls, house cats, muskrats, rabbits, etc when given an easy chance. Yes, they will also steal fish from Ospreys.
Unlike Ospreys, they do not dive into the water but just try to snatch fish on the surface:
- They seem to have no problem catching enough fish. Funny how they seem to prefer the heads.
- Their attentiveness to the bobble-head chicks is great. The chicks have times to eat, times to sleep cozily under a parent, times to poop, and times to exercise. Easy life, with non-stop sashimi.
I wonder whether Buffleheads can dislodge and eat Limpets. My photo is a beach of pure limpets (aka Slipper Shells). Something ate them, and I saw only Buffleheads.
I had one rummaging around in my shrubs recently (American Red Squirrel), and had not seen one here for years. Cute little guys, not often seen on the ground or away from good-sized conifer stands.
This colorful species of the jay family is fairly common from the East coast of the US to the eastern edge of the Rockies. In winter here I occasionally find their feathers scattered around where a Sharp-Shinned Hawk has caught one for dinner.
Apparently some migrate and some don't. It is termed "partial migration." I have seen large flocks migrating south along the Hudson River. However, there are always plenty of them around in a New England winter especially if you put bird food out.
Factoid: they mate for life, like Canada Geese. How do they know who is who, because they all look the same?
I looked it up, to some extent. Did not cover all North American owls.
The very common Great Horned Owl does not migrate at all. They lay their eggs in January, wherever they live.
The common (but rarely seen) Long Eared Owl does move down from its northern breeding range in winter as does the tiny Saw Whet Owl.
Screech Owls tend to stay put.
The Short-Eared Owl migrates widely from its breeding grounds on the tundra. I've seen them on marshes in winter in New England.
The arctic Snowy Owl is famous for its occasional irruptions south. I've been lucky to see them a few times, mostly on beaches but once on the roof of a suburban house.
Their strands of small black and red berries ripen in September. A Wild Cherry tree in September will be full of birds until the tree is stripped. That happened here this week.
Unlike the Spring songbird migration, which comes in giant waves, Fall migration is scattered and gradual. I've seen a few fall warblers in recent days (difficult to identify because they are so drab), and our Catbirds have departed.
As in Spring, small birds (Passerines and the like) migrate at night.
For birders, the cool thing in Fall are the hawk, eagle, and, to some extent, owl migrations. They are daytime migrants. Our breeding Ospreys left last week, headed mostly for the Caribbean.
Actually, not sure about how owls move south but they do not do extensive migrations.
The chorus of crickets chirping on these late summer evenings is one of the finest things in life, and last night they were loud. That evening bug-song has followed me through most of my life, and fills me with joy.
Field Crickets are found across the US. In New England, we have the Black Field Cricket (photo) who is at his prime in early October until the first hard frost. They are mainly nocturnal insects and eat almost anything.
Taxonomically, crickets (along with grasshoppers, locusts, katydids) are in Order Orthoptera of Class Insecta.
The males rub their forewings together producing the chirp or trill, of which the frequency is temperature-related. The function of the trill is, of course, to attract females desirous of fertilization - or to fight. Only males chirp.
Around here, we still have the Katydids singing at night along with the rapidly-growing Field Crickets. Open the windows. Or open the doors: two Field Crickets are occupying the Maggie's HQ right now, and I need to leave them some crumbs from my Subway sandwich to keep them happy.