Re: [cayugabirds-l] Where are the birds?

[Nancy Cusumano]

It really is an odd summer!  We also are missing "our" peewee, who has been
here reliably for the 14 years I have lived in this house. Missing him!
There are at least 2 pair of great crested flycatchers and on Friday an
Indigo bunting showed up and is still around singing his head off from the
tops of the black locust trees.
There are sapsucker babies (that sound like they are humming in morse code
from inside the tree) and bluebirds too.  So down one peewee, up a bunting?
Guess I would call that OKbut I want my peewee back.

thanks for everyone's comments on this thread.

Nancy

Cayuga Dog Rescue has saved more than 578! dogs since 2005!
Learn more at cayugadogrescue.org

On Mon, Jun 18, 2018 at 1:28 PM,  wrote:

> Hi!
>
> Over 30years of banding, migration and population study here and we
> experienced and ever increasing paucity of birds. About 15 years ago I
> wrote a report citing these losses. While many can be linked to loss of
> habitat mainly due to factory farming, that didn't account for the lack of
> song. We prognosticated at the time that populations within species were
> undergoing a drastic diminishment.That has since been shown to be even
> worse than we guessed ( based on American Bird Conservancy data sets).
>
> A result most noticeable was in song. With fewer competitors, birds in
> lesser numbers arrive on native land and , if they find it still existent,
> establish a territory. With little or no competition, the territorial song
> is short lived -after all, why expend energy needlessly? Defense of
> territory is seldom needed so in season song is greatly diminished.
>
> That doesn't mean it stops entirely but certainly far less than what we
> new 50, 40 or 30 years ago.
>
> Fast forward to the crazy migration we experienced this spring. Expected
> species have still not checked in and we guess they either overflew or were
> content to our south. We have the same experience with Veery here and Wood
> Thrush has been declining steadily. Least Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo are
> all missing and the fancy Thrushes once a stopover certainty haven't been
> seen for several years. Yesterday, we finally had a single Pewee. On the
> positive side we are inundated with Grosbeaks, Purple Finch, Great-crested
> Flycatchers, cuckoos and others that are normally here in much smaller
> numbers.
>
> Looking South to the greater DC area, many of these species are still
> there and that's abnormal. Check the ADK reports and they are also having a
> strange year although I've not seen any thoughts on the subject from that
> area.
>
> The short answer is an unusual migration window with lots of weather
> effect, rapidly declining populations creating an environment where our old
> expectations are no longer valid.
>
> I liked it much better several decades ago. We have stopped banding
> passerines and happy we did as the disappointment would be even greater.
>
> Best,
>
> John
>
>
>
> ---
> John and Sue Gregoire
> Field Ornithologists
> Kestrel Haven Migration Observatory
> 5373 Fitzgerald Rd
> 
> Burdett, NY 14818
> 
> 42.443508000, -76.758202000
>
> On 2018-06-18 15:45, W. Larry Hymes wrote:
>
> I have noticed, as have others, that the woods have not been as plentiful
> with bird song as normal.  On my recent walks at Upper Buttermilk I have
> been very disappointed in the total absence of Wood Thrush, Veery, and
> Scarlet Tanager.  By this time in past years I've always have several of
> these birds.  On my most recent walk (Friday) I was wonderfully surprised
> to hear 2 Wood Thrush and 2-3 each of Veery and Scarlet Tanager.  Why the
> sudden "reappearance"??  I know I'm going to be criticized for asking, but
> could some birds (species) still be migrating in?  If not, then why did
> they finally "show up"?  Some could argue they were busy with nesting.  But
> I've never experienced birds remaining completely mum during the nesting
> season.  Another argument could be that they are now moving around after
> the first brood.  I doubt that would explain the numbers of these species I
> had all of a sudden plopping down in Upper Buttermilk?  By the way, we
> picnicked at Upper Treman yesterday and bird song was relatively
> infrequent.  Do any of you have any thoughts on this subject??
>
> Larry
>
> --
>
> 
> W. Larry Hymes
> 120
> 
>  Vine
> 
>  Street,
> 
>  Ithaca,
> 
>  NY
> 
>  14850
> 
> (H) 607-277-0759, 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Where are the birds?

[Geo Kloppel]

There are plenty of birds around my place, and West Danby generally. In this 
area I have all the expected breeding birds, and even some fun additions, like 
Marsh Wrens, Pied-billed Grebes and Northern Harriers. If you’d asked me a 
couple days ago about what’s missing, I might have said Cerulean Warbler, but 
lo! Chris Wood found one yesterday in more-or-less the same area they’ve 
occupied in previous years.

Well, yeah,  there don’t seem to be any Grasshopper Sparrows, let alone 
Henslow’s; but that’s not exactly news.

Cuckoos, Thrushes, Tanagers, Flycatchers, Warblers, Vireos, Bobolinks, 
etcetera: they’re all here.

However, it’s certainly true that things are quieter now that territorial 
rivalries have settled and nests have been filled. During the next few weeks 
I’m expecting an explosion of bird activity, but it won’t really be about 
singing, it will be all about stuffing the gullets of hungry youngsters!

-Geo


> On Jun 18, 2018, at 11:45 AM, W. Larry Hymes  wrote:
> 
> I have noticed, as have others, that the woods have not been as plentiful 
> with bird song as normal.  On my recent walks at Upper Buttermilk I have been 
> very disappointed in the total absence of Wood Thrush, Veery, and Scarlet 
> Tanager.  By this time in past years I've always have several of these birds. 
>  On my most recent walk (Friday) I was wonderfully surprised to hear 2 Wood 
> Thrush and 2-3 each of Veery and Scarlet Tanager.  Why the sudden 
> "reappearance"??  I know I'm going to be criticized for asking, but could 
> some birds (species) still be migrating in?  If not, then why did they 
> finally "show up"?  Some could argue they were busy with nesting.  But I've 
> never experienced birds remaining completely mum during the nesting season.  
> Another argument could be that they are now moving around after the first 
> brood.  I doubt that would explain the numbers of these species I had all of 
> a sudden plopping down in Upper Buttermilk?  By the way, we picnicked at 
> Upper Treman yesterday and bird song was relatively infrequent.  Do any of 
> you have any thoughts on this subject??
> 
> Larry
> 
> -- 
> 
> 
> W. Larry Hymes
> 120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
> (H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu
> 
> 
> 
> --
> 
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> 
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
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> 
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Where are the birds?

[Glenn Wilson]

We seem to have a lot of birds on the lower 10 ton15 acres. The odd thing to us 
is indigo Buntings, Rose-breasted grosbeaks, and Baltimore Orioles all frequent 
our feeders. At the same time, our usual 5 or 6 red-breasted Nuthatches seem to 
be down to 1 or 2. Many birds live around here including several warblers.  

Glenn Wilson
Endicott, NY
www.WilsonsWarbler.com

On Jun 18, 2018, at 1:28 PM,   wrote:

Hi!

Over 30years of banding, migration and population study here and we experienced 
and ever increasing paucity of birds. About 15 years ago I wrote a report 
citing these losses. While many can be linked to loss of habitat mainly due to 
factory farming, that didn't account for the lack of song. We prognosticated at 
the time that populations within species were undergoing a drastic 
diminishment.That has since been shown to be even worse than we guessed ( based 
on American Bird Conservancy data sets).

A result most noticeable was in song. With fewer competitors, birds in lesser 
numbers arrive on native land and , if they find it still existent, establish a 
territory. With little or no competition, the territorial song is short lived 
-after all, why expend energy needlessly? Defense of territory is seldom needed 
so in season song is greatly diminished.

That doesn't mean it stops entirely but certainly far less than what we new 50, 
40 or 30 years ago.

Fast forward to the crazy migration we experienced this spring. Expected 
species have still not checked in and we guess they either overflew or were 
content to our south. We have the same experience with Veery here and Wood 
Thrush has been declining steadily. Least Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo are all 
missing and the fancy Thrushes once a stopover certainty haven't been seen for 
several years. Yesterday, we finally had a single Pewee. On the positive side 
we are inundated with Grosbeaks, Purple Finch, Great-crested Flycatchers, 
cuckoos and others that are normally here in much smaller numbers.

Looking South to the greater DC area, many of these species are still there and 
that's abnormal. Check the ADK reports and they are also having a strange year 
although I've not seen any thoughts on the subject from that area.

The short answer is an unusual migration window with lots of weather effect, 
rapidly declining populations creating an environment where our old 
expectations are no longer valid.

I liked it much better several decades ago. We have stopped banding passerines 
and happy we did as the disappointment would be even greater.

Best,

John





---
John and Sue Gregoire
Field Ornithologists
Kestrel Haven Migration Observatory
5373 Fitzgerald Rd
Burdett, NY 14818
42.443508000, -76.758202000
> On 2018-06-18 15:45, W. Larry Hymes wrote:
> 
> I have noticed, as have others, that the woods have not been as plentiful 
> with bird song as normal.  On my recent walks at Upper Buttermilk I have been 
> very disappointed in the total absence of Wood Thrush, Veery, and Scarlet 
> Tanager.  By this time in past years I've always have several of these birds. 
>  On my most recent walk (Friday) I was wonderfully surprised to hear 2 Wood 
> Thrush and 2-3 each of Veery and Scarlet Tanager.  Why the sudden 
> "reappearance"??  I know I'm going to be criticized for asking, but could 
> some birds (species) still be migrating in?  If not, then why did they 
> finally "show up"?  Some could argue they were busy with nesting.  But I've 
> never experienced birds remaining completely mum during the nesting season.  
> Another argument could be that they are now moving around after the first 
> brood.  I doubt that would explain the numbers of these species I had all of 
> a sudden plopping down in Upper Buttermilk?  By the way, we picnicked at 
> Upper Treman yesterday and bird song was relatively infrequent.  Do any of 
> you have any thoughts on this subject??
> 
> Larry
> 
> -- 
> 
> 
> W. Larry Hymes
> 120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
> (H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu
> 
> 
> 
> --
> 
> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
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> 
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> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
> 
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
> 
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Re: [cayugabirds-l] Where are the birds?

[Linda Orkin]

Thanks for your astute analysis John.  It is sad to be an observer of all
this as I only learned so much of what I didn't know about the birds around
us in 1990 and since then have watched what I consider to be a precipitous
decline, especially in more marginal habitats.  Those on the frontlines as
banders etc really see these effects so poignantly and knowledgeably

Linda Orkin
Ithaca, NY

On Mon, Jun 18, 2018 at 1:28 PM,  wrote:

> Hi!
>
> Over 30years of banding, migration and population study here and we
> experienced and ever increasing paucity of birds. About 15 years ago I
> wrote a report citing these losses. While many can be linked to loss of
> habitat mainly due to factory farming, that didn't account for the lack of
> song. We prognosticated at the time that populations within species were
> undergoing a drastic diminishment.That has since been shown to be even
> worse than we guessed ( based on American Bird Conservancy data sets).
>
> A result most noticeable was in song. With fewer competitors, birds in
> lesser numbers arrive on native land and , if they find it still existent,
> establish a territory. With little or no competition, the territorial song
> is short lived -after all, why expend energy needlessly? Defense of
> territory is seldom needed so in season song is greatly diminished.
>
> That doesn't mean it stops entirely but certainly far less than what we
> new 50, 40 or 30 years ago.
>
> Fast forward to the crazy migration we experienced this spring. Expected
> species have still not checked in and we guess they either overflew or were
> content to our south. We have the same experience with Veery here and Wood
> Thrush has been declining steadily. Least Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo are
> all missing and the fancy Thrushes once a stopover certainty haven't been
> seen for several years. Yesterday, we finally had a single Pewee. On the
> positive side we are inundated with Grosbeaks, Purple Finch, Great-crested
> Flycatchers, cuckoos and others that are normally here in much smaller
> numbers.
>
> Looking South to the greater DC area, many of these species are still
> there and that's abnormal. Check the ADK reports and they are also having a
> strange year although I've not seen any thoughts on the subject from that
> area.
>
> The short answer is an unusual migration window with lots of weather
> effect, rapidly declining populations creating an environment where our old
> expectations are no longer valid.
>
> I liked it much better several decades ago. We have stopped banding
> passerines and happy we did as the disappointment would be even greater.
>
> Best,
>
> John
>
>
>
> ---
> John and Sue Gregoire
> Field Ornithologists
> Kestrel Haven Migration Observatory
> 5373 Fitzgerald Rd
> 
> Burdett, NY 14818
> 
> 42.443508000, -76.758202000
>
> On 2018-06-18 15:45, W. Larry Hymes wrote:
>
> I have noticed, as have others, that the woods have not been as plentiful
> with bird song as normal.  On my recent walks at Upper Buttermilk I have
> been very disappointed in the total absence of Wood Thrush, Veery, and
> Scarlet Tanager.  By this time in past years I've always have several of
> these birds.  On my most recent walk (Friday) I was wonderfully surprised
> to hear 2 Wood Thrush and 2-3 each of Veery and Scarlet Tanager.  Why the
> sudden "reappearance"??  I know I'm going to be criticized for asking, but
> could some birds (species) still be migrating in?  If not, then why did
> they finally "show up"?  Some could argue they were busy with nesting.  But
> I've never experienced birds remaining completely mum during the nesting
> season.  Another argument could be that they are now moving around after
> the first brood.  I doubt that would explain the numbers of these species I
> had all of a sudden plopping down in Upper Buttermilk?  By the way, we
> picnicked at Upper Treman yesterday and bird song was relatively
> infrequent.  Do any of you have any thoughts on this subject??
>
> Larry
>
> --
>
> 
> W. Larry Hymes
> 120
> 
>  Vine
> 
>  Street,
> 
>  Ithaca,
> 
>  NY
> 
>  14850
> 
> (H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu
> 
>
>
> --
>
> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
>
> ARCHIVES:
> 1) 

Re: [cayugabirds-l] Where are the birds?

[khmo]

Hi! 

Over 30years of banding, migration and population study here and we
experienced and ever increasing paucity of birds. About 15 years ago I
wrote a report citing these losses. While many can be linked to loss of
habitat mainly due to factory farming, that didn't account for the lack
of song. We prognosticated at the time that populations within species
were undergoing a drastic diminishment.That has since been shown to be
even worse than we guessed ( based on American Bird Conservancy data
sets). 

A result most noticeable was in song. With fewer competitors, birds in
lesser numbers arrive on native land and , if they find it still
existent, establish a territory. With little or no competition, the
territorial song is short lived -after all, why expend energy
needlessly? Defense of territory is seldom needed so in season song is
greatly diminished. 

That doesn't mean it stops entirely but certainly far less than what we
new 50, 40 or 30 years ago. 

Fast forward to the crazy migration we experienced this spring. Expected
species have still not checked in and we guess they either overflew or
were content to our south. We have the same experience with Veery here
and Wood Thrush has been declining steadily. Least Flycatcher, Warbling
Vireo are all missing and the fancy Thrushes once a stopover certainty
haven't been seen for several years. Yesterday, we finally had a single
Pewee. On the positive side we are inundated with Grosbeaks, Purple
Finch, Great-crested Flycatchers, cuckoos and others that are normally
here in much smaller numbers. 

Looking South to the greater DC area, many of these species are still
there and that's abnormal. Check the ADK reports and they are also
having a strange year although I've not seen any thoughts on the subject
from that area. 

The short answer is an unusual migration window with lots of weather
effect, rapidly declining populations creating an environment where our
old expectations are no longer valid. 

I liked it much better several decades ago. We have stopped banding
passerines and happy we did as the disappointment would be even greater.


Best, 

John 

---
John and Sue Gregoire
Field Ornithologists
Kestrel Haven Migration Observatory
5373 Fitzgerald Rd
Burdett, NY 14818
42.443508000, -76.758202000 

On 2018-06-18 15:45, W. Larry Hymes wrote:

> I have noticed, as have others, that the woods have not been as plentiful 
> with bird song as normal.  On my recent walks at Upper Buttermilk I have been 
> very disappointed in the total absence of Wood Thrush, Veery, and Scarlet 
> Tanager.  By this time in past years I've always have several of these birds. 
>  On my most recent walk (Friday) I was wonderfully surprised to hear 2 Wood 
> Thrush and 2-3 each of Veery and Scarlet Tanager.  Why the sudden 
> "reappearance"??  I know I'm going to be criticized for asking, but could 
> some birds (species) still be migrating in?  If not, then why did they 
> finally "show up"?  Some could argue they were busy with nesting.  But I've 
> never experienced birds remaining completely mum during the nesting season.  
> Another argument could be that they are now moving around after the first 
> brood.  I doubt that would explain the numbers of these species I had all of 
> a sudden plopping down in Upper Buttermilk?  By the way, we picnicked at 
> Upper Treman yesterday and
bird song was relatively infrequent.  Do any of you have any thoughts on this 
subject??
> 
> Larry
> 
> -- 
> 
> 
> W. Larry Hymes
> 120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
> (H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu
> 
> 
> --
> 
> Cayugabirds-L List Info:
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES
> http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm
> 
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> 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds
> 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html
> 
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
> 
> --
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[cayugabirds-l] Where are the birds?

[W. Larry Hymes]

I have noticed, as have others, that the woods have not been as 
plentiful with bird song as normal.  On my recent walks at Upper 
Buttermilk I have been very disappointed in the total absence of Wood 
Thrush, Veery, and Scarlet Tanager.  By this time in past years I've 
always have several of these birds.  On my most recent walk (Friday) I 
was wonderfully surprised to hear 2 Wood Thrush and 2-3 each of Veery 
and Scarlet Tanager.  Why the sudden "reappearance"??  I know I'm going 
to be criticized for asking, but could some birds (species) still be 
migrating in?  If not, then why did they finally "show up"?  Some could 
argue they were busy with nesting.  But I've never experienced birds 
remaining completely mum during the nesting season.  Another argument 
could be that they are now moving around after the first brood.  I doubt 
that would explain the numbers of these species I had all of a sudden 
plopping down in Upper Buttermilk?  By the way, we picnicked at Upper 
Treman yesterday and bird song was relatively infrequent.  Do any of you 
have any thoughts on this subject??


Larry

--


W. Larry Hymes
120 Vine Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
(H) 607-277-0759, w...@cornell.edu



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