where i've been & who i've been seeing

May 26 -- the first morning this month that I haven't gotten up before dawn to go to work (it's raining). The older I get, the harder it is to withstand so little sleep for a month. The fatigue feels like walking through molasses. I get depressed. And -- disturbingly -- I have distinct memory loss. I have a couple of metabolic health issues that really exacerbate this, so it's really frustrating.

For the first spring in 15 years or so, I've done as many intensive surveys as banding days. This has been a truly strange spring.  The widespread and relatively lengthy "Easter freeze" in the eastern U.S. seems to have had some very profound effects on bird populations. Birds are adapted to spring freezes, of course, but this one was exceptional in many ways.  It covered a wide geographic area, below-freezing overnight temperatures in southern latitudes lasted more than one or two nights in many places, daytime highs were also below normal for nearly a week or more, and it followed a late March very warm period which pushed vegetation and insect emergence up to two weeks ahead of schedule. I've seen very notable declines in particular in short-distance migrants that would have been caught transitioning to insects when the freeze hit, such as Hermit Thrush, House Wren, Gray Catbird, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat. In general, nearly all migrants have been present in well-below-normal numbers here. We did have some long periods of strong east winds -- I hope that this pushed migrants west and that some of these missing birds just bypassed southeast Michigan.

It will take awhile to see how this freeze really impacted birds.Those that have survived to reach breeding areas may be in poorer condition and have less reproductive success. Southbound migrants in many areas will find less fruit to feed on, as fruit-bearing shrubs and plants either lost their blossoms in the freeze, or lacked pollinators. I was in Kentucky at the end of April, and the entire canopy and sub-canopy had just begun to get leaves, having lost the first set in the freeze.  It was really dramatic!

At any rate, as my research focus becomes more defined, the utility of my spring banding program, versus the very productive fall season, is coming more into question. I'm most interested in the challenges faced by migrants in urban areas, particularly resource availability and quality. My study site is more appropriate for addressing this for southbound migrants. In spring, birds tend to gather around our small lake (top two photos).  This area is so popular with humans, however, that I can't band there without suffering from constant vandalism.

I do get a good variety of birds in the spring. Here are a few examples, top to bottom:

• Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia). These can sometimes be fantastically abundant, but have been scarce here this spring. As sub-canopy feeders, they may have found less canopy and subsequently less food on the way here.
• Tennessee Warbler (Vermivora peregrina). I'm always amazed at how loud this little bird can be!
• Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis). Sometimes the birds we consider to be the most ordinary are also the most beautiful, when you get a close look.
• Northern Parula (Parula americana). We don't catch many of this tree-top species.
• Mourning Warbler (Oporornis philadelphia). A species that signals the end of migration around here. I did band a couple at work yesterday, but this individual was one of two that we banded in the yard the same day. It's the 49th species we've banded in our little suburban yard.
  
  The focus of the yard banding is interseasonal movements of American Goldfinch. In our limited efforts (Kingfisher does most of the banding at home),we've banded 1,900 goldfinches.  We are discovering they are very nomadic -- the turnover is pretty continual, with birds being recaptured for up to a week or so, then not being caught again for months or years. It's really interesting, and when we figure out a really good way to present the data, we'll publish it. Other species we band a lot of are Dark-eyed Juncos (600+) and Mourning Doves (~300). We get quite a few of the same juncos back winter after winter.  We recapture relatively few doves, but have had birds we've banded here in mid-summer (theoretically breeding birds) recovered in west-central Ohio and South Carolina!

My garden is out of control, and my desk at home full of neglected chores. Time to play catch-up...

Comments

[Rurality]

The Mourning warbler is so cool! I've never seen one.

I wonder what effect the southern droughts will have (and the forest fires too). I can't remember it ever being so dry here.

The extension agent in our county says the freeze event here was the worst since 1955.

[John]

When I have been out this spring I have noticed a relative lack of hooded warblers. The common yellowthroats, gray catbirds, and yellow warblers seem to be okay.

I don't think there is anything ordinary about a savannah sparrow.

[Omar]

Stunningly beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing them.

[Aydin]

I hope you will now start posting more often.