Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
Sorry about that. I threw in that "not" out of nowhere. My bad. I was trying to suggest that they call less frequently at night than those other taxa. I agree with you completely Mike - robins must be on the extreme low end. In the fall, I see hundreds to thousands at dawn returning off the Gulf after a good front (as I do Yellow-rumps, Indigos, thrushes, etc), but I never record robins and I record lots of the other guys. Again my apologies to everyone for the confusion. Erik On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 12:35 PM, Michael Lanzone wrote: > Hi Erik, > > If I understand you correctly, your saying you haven't heard them at night, > but are making the assumption that the calling rate is "probably not much > less frequently than other thrushes, buntings, warblers,tanagers, orioles, > and sparrows." I am just curious how you are coming to that conclusion. At > least here and our other stations (from Erie, PA to southern Appalachians) > there is a big difference in calling rate between those species, and Robins > seem to be on the extreme low end compared with their relative abundance > during migration. I'd be curious to hear some other thoughts/experiances > with Robins. > > Best, > Mike > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Apr 13, 2010, at 1:05 PM, Erik Johnson wrote: > >> Along the gulf coast in the fall, I have witnessed large pre-dawn >> movements of American Robins that are returning north after presumably >> realizing that they are over water (the Gulf) as daylight approaches. >> This return flight can last up to one hour after sunrise, although it >> typically peaks just before sunrise. I have always assumed this means >> they were traveling south in the dark hours of the night. I have >> played around with some nocturnal recording, but have yet to get a >> flight call of a robin in the spring or fall - about 30 mi north of >> the Gulf in south-central Louisiana. If they do call, it's probably >> not much less frequently than other thrushes, buntings, warblers, >> tanagers, orioles, and sparrows, at least based on my local experience >> here. >> >> Cheers, >> Erik Johnson >> S Lafayette, LA >> ejohn33 AT lsu.edu >> >> >> On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 11:54 AM, Ted Floyd wrote: >>> >>> Hi, all. >>> >>> I ponder this question a lot. In all my experience in Colorado, I have >>> heard >>> exactly one (1) flight call from a robin that seemed to be an on-the-go >>> nocturnal migrant. (For comparison, I've heard more flight calls from >>> nocturnal-migrant Western Grebes and Eastern Kingbirds in Colorado.) I've >>> flushed a lot of robins by night, but that doesn't really count. >>> >>> In Boulder County, Colorado, then, I'd say that robins are practically >>> silent as nocturnal migrants, or they simply do not migrate by night. I >>> frequently see (and hear) heavy, medium-altitude robin passages that go >>> strong right to around sundown, but then the flights suddenly end at >>> nightfall. >>> >>> Daytime "Vis Mig" of American Robins is striking (visual and audible) in >>> the >>> Front Range region of Colorado, comparable to the heavy daytime flights >>> of >>> Common Grackles in early spring. >>> >>> Ted Floyd >>> tfl...@aba.org >>> Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado >>> >>> >>> From: bounce-5534264-9667...@list.cornell.edu >>> [mailto:bounce-5534264-9667...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Michael >>> O'Brien >>> Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 1:59 PM >>> To: Jeff Wells >>> Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu >>> Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 >>> >>> Jeff, >>> I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a >>> diurnal >>> migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly >>> is >>> not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at >>> least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of >>> the >>> morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly >>> heavy flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my >>> estimation is that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. >>> I >>> find their behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to >>> be >>> less vocal. It would be interesting to know what others have observed and >>> if >>> the situation is different elsewhere. My guess is that the main >>> difference, >>> if any, is that robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly >>> more quietly in others. >>> good listening! >>> Michael O'Brien >>> >>> - Original Message - >>> From: "Jeff Wells" >>> To: NFC-L@cornell.edu >>> Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 2:42:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern >>> Subject: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 >>> >>> I started my automated recording station for the season here in Maine on >>> Thursday night, April 1st. Although there were few calls each of the last >>> three nights, the numbers increased a little each night from
Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
Hi Erik, If I understand you correctly, your saying you haven't heard them at night, but are making the assumption that the calling rate is "probably not much less frequently than other thrushes, buntings, warblers,tanagers, orioles, and sparrows." I am just curious how you are coming to that conclusion. At least here and our other stations (from Erie, PA to southern Appalachians) there is a big difference in calling rate between those species, and Robins seem to be on the extreme low end compared with their relative abundance during migration. I'd be curious to hear some other thoughts/experiances with Robins. Best, Mike Sent from my iPhone On Apr 13, 2010, at 1:05 PM, Erik Johnson wrote: Along the gulf coast in the fall, I have witnessed large pre-dawn movements of American Robins that are returning north after presumably realizing that they are over water (the Gulf) as daylight approaches. This return flight can last up to one hour after sunrise, although it typically peaks just before sunrise. I have always assumed this means they were traveling south in the dark hours of the night. I have played around with some nocturnal recording, but have yet to get a flight call of a robin in the spring or fall - about 30 mi north of the Gulf in south-central Louisiana. If they do call, it's probably not much less frequently than other thrushes, buntings, warblers, tanagers, orioles, and sparrows, at least based on my local experience here. Cheers, Erik Johnson S Lafayette, LA ejohn33 AT lsu.edu On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 11:54 AM, Ted Floyd wrote: Hi, all. I ponder this question a lot. In all my experience in Colorado, I have heard exactly one (1) flight call from a robin that seemed to be an on- the-go nocturnal migrant. (For comparison, I've heard more flight calls from nocturnal-migrant Western Grebes and Eastern Kingbirds in Colorado.) I've flushed a lot of robins by night, but that doesn't really count. In Boulder County, Colorado, then, I'd say that robins are practically silent as nocturnal migrants, or they simply do not migrate by night. I frequently see (and hear) heavy, medium-altitude robin passages that go strong right to around sundown, but then the flights suddenly end at nightfall. Daytime "Vis Mig" of American Robins is striking (visual and audible) in the Front Range region of Colorado, comparable to the heavy daytime flights of Common Grackles in early spring. Ted Floyd tfl...@aba.org Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado From: bounce-5534264-9667...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-5534264-9667...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Michael O'Brien Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 1:59 PM To: Jeff Wells Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 Jeff, I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a diurnal migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly is not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of the morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly heavy flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my estimation is that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. I find their behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to be less vocal. It would be interesting to know what others have observed and if the situation is different elsewhere. My guess is that the main difference, if any, is that robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly more quietly in others. good listening! Michael O'Brien - Original Message - From: "Jeff Wells" To: NFC-L@cornell.edu Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 2:42:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 I started my automated recording station for the season here in Maine on Thursday night, April 1st. Although there were few calls each of the last three nights, the numbers increased a little each night from about 10 the night of the 1st to about 30 last night. There were a few Hermit Thrushes the first night, 6 the 2nd and 12 the night of the 3rd. There were a few Killdeer each night, a Wood Duck, and 4-10 sparrows each night with Song and White-throat plus a couple that may be American Tree Sparrow and a junco or two. A few other items of interest: -several nights had Herring Gull calls in the middle of the night that I assume are night migrating birds; -several nights had the squeal flight calls of American Robins around midnight. Although I sometimes have what I assume to be local on- the-ground robins sing and give ground alarm calls in the middle of the night, they don't give the squeal calls. The acoustics of the recorded squeal calls also seem more like birds overhead. I suspect that, as
RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
Ted Caspian Terns were common night sounds in Toronto when I lived there, this occurred in mid summer and likely involved more local movements between Lake Ontario and smaller lakes to the north. But I don't doubt that they migrate at night, and in the right place you should hear them going by. I hear them on occasion here at night in the California Coast. I also hear Elegant Terns during the northbound post breeding movement (July - September) sometimes with the distinctive sounds of the young begging from the adults, this is also at night. Gulls and terns seem to be much more active at night than we give them credit for. In Hawaii too I have heard Sooty Terns overhead at night, well away from breeding areas and in places where I have never seen them in the day (like Kauai)! Regards, Alvaro Alvaro Jaramillo chu...@coastside.net Half Moon Bay, California Field Guides - Birding Tours Worldwide www.fieldguides.com _ From: bounce-5574183-10107...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-5574183-10107...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Ted Floyd Sent: Tuesday, April 13, 2010 9:57 AM To: Jeff Wells; Michael O'Brien Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu Subject: RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 Hi, all. Random comment. A friend of mine says that Caspian Tern is one of the most characteristic night sounds where he lives in the Puget Sound area of northwest Washington. He hears them well from waterways, for what that's worth. Dunno if it's migration, or local birds moving around, or what; but, at least, the birds are vocal and on the go at night in that part of the continent. Ted Floyd tfl...@aba.org Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado _ From: bounce-5534317-9667...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-5534317-9667...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Jeff Wells Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 2:09 PM To: Michael O'Brien Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu Subject: RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 Very cool! Makes sense when you see large numbers of robins flying over in the early morning hours that they would be birds that have been moving at night. Funny though that over the years I don't recall picking up any within the 10 PM-2 AM window that I think of as indicating birds moving through the night as opposed to in the early morning hours when it is not as clear whether they just started migrating or are descending. Speaking of birds that move through the night but are not as readily detected, have any of you picked up terns other than Caspian Tern migrating at night? It's obvious that they migrate at night based on the way they just appear one morning in a location but it seems like you don't hear them. Though at least Caspian Terns in the fall when they have still-dependent young regularly call back and forth with the trailing young birds at night. Jeff -- NFC-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
Along the gulf coast in the fall, I have witnessed large pre-dawn movements of American Robins that are returning north after presumably realizing that they are over water (the Gulf) as daylight approaches. This return flight can last up to one hour after sunrise, although it typically peaks just before sunrise. I have always assumed this means they were traveling south in the dark hours of the night. I have played around with some nocturnal recording, but have yet to get a flight call of a robin in the spring or fall - about 30 mi north of the Gulf in south-central Louisiana. If they do call, it's probably not much less frequently than other thrushes, buntings, warblers, tanagers, orioles, and sparrows, at least based on my local experience here. Cheers, Erik Johnson S Lafayette, LA ejohn33 AT lsu.edu On Tue, Apr 13, 2010 at 11:54 AM, Ted Floyd wrote: > Hi, all. > > I ponder this question a lot. In all my experience in Colorado, I have heard > exactly one (1) flight call from a robin that seemed to be an on-the-go > nocturnal migrant. (For comparison, I've heard more flight calls from > nocturnal-migrant Western Grebes and Eastern Kingbirds in Colorado.) I've > flushed a lot of robins by night, but that doesn't really count. > > In Boulder County, Colorado, then, I'd say that robins are practically > silent as nocturnal migrants, or they simply do not migrate by night. I > frequently see (and hear) heavy, medium-altitude robin passages that go > strong right to around sundown, but then the flights suddenly end at > nightfall. > > Daytime "Vis Mig" of American Robins is striking (visual and audible) in the > Front Range region of Colorado, comparable to the heavy daytime flights of > Common Grackles in early spring. > > Ted Floyd > tfl...@aba.org > Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado > > > From: bounce-5534264-9667...@list.cornell.edu > [mailto:bounce-5534264-9667...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Michael > O'Brien > Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 1:59 PM > To: Jeff Wells > Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu > Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 > > Jeff, > I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a diurnal > migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly is > not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at > least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of the > morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly > heavy flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my > estimation is that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. I > find their behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to be > less vocal. It would be interesting to know what others have observed and if > the situation is different elsewhere. My guess is that the main difference, > if any, is that robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly > more quietly in others. > good listening! > Michael O'Brien > > - Original Message - > From: "Jeff Wells" > To: NFC-L@cornell.edu > Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 2:42:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 > > I started my automated recording station for the season here in Maine on > Thursday night, April 1st. Although there were few calls each of the last > three nights, the numbers increased a little each night from about 10 the > night of the 1st to about 30 last night. There were a few Hermit Thrushes > the first night, 6 the 2nd and 12 the night of the 3rd. There were a few > Killdeer each night, a Wood Duck, and 4-10 sparrows each night with Song and > White-throat plus a couple that may be American Tree Sparrow and a junco or > two. A few other items of interest: > > > > -several nights had Herring Gull calls in the middle of the night that I > assume are night migrating birds; > > > > -several nights had the squeal flight calls of American Robins around > midnight. Although I sometimes have what I assume to be local on-the-ground > robins sing and give ground alarm calls in the middle of the night, they > don't give the squeal calls. The acoustics of the recorded squeal calls also > seem more like birds overhead. I suspect that, as unlikely as it seems, that > these were night-flying robins when by all accounts the species is only a > diurnal migrant; > > > > -one night I had what sounded like a bit of song of a night-flying Hermit > Thrush. I typically get some night-flying birds in May that break out in > song or partial song while flying overhead but I had never picked that up > for Hermit Thrush. > > > > I posted some of the call files on my blog at: www.borealbirds.org/blog > > > > Jeff Wells > > > > -- NFC-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
Hi, all. Random comment. A friend of mine says that Caspian Tern is one of the most characteristic night sounds where he lives in the Puget Sound area of northwest Washington. He hears them well from waterways, for what that's worth. Dunno if it's migration, or local birds moving around, or what; but, at least, the birds are vocal and on the go at night in that part of the continent. Ted Floyd tfl...@aba.org Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado From: bounce-5534317-9667...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-5534317-9667...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Jeff Wells Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 2:09 PM To: Michael O'Brien Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu Subject: RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 Very cool! Makes sense when you see large numbers of robins flying over in the early morning hours that they would be birds that have been moving at night. Funny though that over the years I don't recall picking up any within the 10 PM-2 AM window that I think of as indicating birds moving through the night as opposed to in the early morning hours when it is not as clear whether they just started migrating or are descending. Speaking of birds that move through the night but are not as readily detected, have any of you picked up terns other than Caspian Tern migrating at night? It's obvious that they migrate at night based on the way they just appear one morning in a location but it seems like you don't hear them. Though at least Caspian Terns in the fall when they have still-dependent young regularly call back and forth with the trailing young birds at night. Jeff -- NFC-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
Hi, all. I ponder this question a lot. In all my experience in Colorado, I have heard exactly one (1) flight call from a robin that seemed to be an on-the-go nocturnal migrant. (For comparison, I've heard more flight calls from nocturnal-migrant Western Grebes and Eastern Kingbirds in Colorado.) I've flushed a lot of robins by night, but that doesn't really count. In Boulder County, Colorado, then, I'd say that robins are practically silent as nocturnal migrants, or they simply do not migrate by night. I frequently see (and hear) heavy, medium-altitude robin passages that go strong right to around sundown, but then the flights suddenly end at nightfall. Daytime "Vis Mig" of American Robins is striking (visual and audible) in the Front Range region of Colorado, comparable to the heavy daytime flights of Common Grackles in early spring. Ted Floyd tfl...@aba.org Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado From: bounce-5534264-9667...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-5534264-9667...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Michael O'Brien Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 1:59 PM To: Jeff Wells Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 Jeff, I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a diurnal migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly is not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of the morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly heavy flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my estimation is that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. I find their behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to be less vocal. It would be interesting to know what others have observed and if the situation is different elsewhere. My guess is that the main difference, if any, is that robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly more quietly in others. good listening! Michael O'Brien - Original Message - From: "Jeff Wells" To: NFC-L@cornell.edu Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 2:42:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 I started my automated recording station for the season here in Maine on Thursday night, April 1st. Although there were few calls each of the last three nights, the numbers increased a little each night from about 10 the night of the 1st to about 30 last night. There were a few Hermit Thrushes the first night, 6 the 2nd and 12 the night of the 3rd. There were a few Killdeer each night, a Wood Duck, and 4-10 sparrows each night with Song and White-throat plus a couple that may be American Tree Sparrow and a junco or two. A few other items of interest: -several nights had Herring Gull calls in the middle of the night that I assume are night migrating birds; -several nights had the squeal flight calls of American Robins around midnight. Although I sometimes have what I assume to be local on-the-ground robins sing and give ground alarm calls in the middle of the night, they don't give the squeal calls. The acoustics of the recorded squeal calls also seem more like birds overhead. I suspect that, as unlikely as it seems, that these were night-flying robins when by all accounts the species is only a diurnal migrant; -one night I had what sounded like a bit of song of a night-flying Hermit Thrush. I typically get some night-flying birds in May that break out in song or partial song while flying overhead but I had never picked that up for Hermit Thrush. I posted some of the call files on my blog at: www.borealbirds.org/blog Jeff Wells -- NFC-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
