Yesterday morning I observed two Parasitic Jaegers and two Semipalmated Plovers during my 1 1/2 hour morning visit to Wisconsin Point (Superior, WI). The strong east/northeast winds blowing throughout yesterday & today have created potentially good pelagic-bird-viewing conditions throughout the Twin Ports of NE Minnesota and NW Wisconsin. Tomorrow's forecast looks like strong northwest winds all day, which will hopefully get raptors back on track for migrating along the north shore of Lake Superior, and meandering through Hawk Ridge here in Duluth.
On that note, I wanted to let you know that if you're interested in hearing daily updates from Hawk Ridge, as well as finding out anticipated raptor forecasts for the upcoming day, you're welcome to join the free Hawk Ridge Yahoogroup. Click on this link below, and you'll find simple directions on how to be informed about these fun happenings and tidbits occurring daily at Hawk Ridge. http://www.hawkridge.org/about/news.html Here is the Daily Update for today, which I just typed and sent out a few minutes ago: SHORT VERSION: As a result of the rain today and unpleasantly strong & gusty winds, the naturalists and volunteers didn't attend the main overlook today. Also with these turbulent and rainy conditions, raptors will hunker down and refrain from migrating! RAPTOR FORECAST: With a second storm front just northwest of Duluth, there is a chance that we could get some rain tomorrow morning. Winds will be strong from the northwest starting tonight and throughout the day tomorrow, which may push some rain this way. In addition to the northwest winds some raptors may fly through as well!! The best flights of raptors tomorrow will likely be tomorrow afternoon, once those northwest winds have time to drift raptors towards shore, as well as clear up some of the rain clouds near us. DETAILED VERSION: Since today wasn't a day of raptors, I thought I'd share some fun things about songbirds. First off, they migrate at night! Songbirds migrate at night using some pretty fancy "natural technology". These songbirds have magnetite in their brain. Magnetite is a magnetic chemical within their brain that acts as an internal compass, so the birds have a bearing on the direction which they fly. But trying to travel long distances with ONLY a compass isn't all that great, since you need to know where you are. You can get a sense of direction with a compass, but how do you know where to go, and where you are? The answer lies overhead, during the night skies! Songbirds use the stars as an overhead map. The follow the position of certain stars, and this is what gives them a sense of place, in addition to being equipped with magnetite. During migration, keep an eye on the bird species in your backyard. If the evening/night conditions in your backyard currently have a north wind with clear skies and many stars glowing overhead, the birds will feel that urge to migrate south, and may even leave that night! On the other hand, note the species in your backyard during a series of cloudy nights… as these birds will likely hang around until conditions change for an easier migration. But even with these superfantastically awesome adaptations, why don't songbirds just migrate at during the daytime like raptors? Songbirds migrate primarily at night because the skies are safer (no high-flying raptors moving around), and to also take advantage of calmer winds. Thermals form during the day, however during the night the air tends to be calmer and less turbulent. These air conditions make for an easier time flying long distances. Here are some photos I took last fall at Hawk Ridge. All of these birds can be seen currently at Hawk Ridge except the last species (American Tree Sparrow). They'll start showing up once the brisk mid-October winds are here. Enjoy! Fox Sparrow: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/118306122 Dark-eyed Junco: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/118306116 http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/118306113 White-throated Sparrow splashing in a puddle with a Dark-eyed Junco: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/118754607 American Robin: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/118754831 Cedar Waxwing: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/118756795 American Tree Sparrow: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/118755069 http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/119004544 Good birdwatching, Erik Bruhnke Duluth, MN NATURALLY AVIAN Bird photography and guided bird hikes www.pbase.com/birdfedr [email protected] Erik Bruhnke Count Interpreter Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory P.O. Box 3006 Duluth, MN 55803-3006 [email protected] www.hawkridge.org ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
