I've been rather housebound for the past few weeks, but from my front porch at 7 pm tonight I saw a group of 30+ nighthawks (I went out as they were passing by, and don't know how many were already beyond my field of view). So I ran in and got my camera and stayed on the porch for a half hour, but didn't see any more nighthawks. However, at least a hundred Chimney Swifts and at least a couple of hundred swallows, including for sure Cliff, Barn, and Tree. Early migration has definitely kicked in.
A flock of about 20 Evening Grosbeaks continues to spend most of each day in my back yard. They spend as much time in the trees as at the feeders. There are also at least two pairs of Purple Finches and a few goldfinches. One or two Yellow Warblers are usually somewhere in the trees, and I've also had American Redstart, Cape May, Nashville, and Tennessee. I can usually hear one or two Empidonax flycatchers, too. There are a lot of juvenile Chipping Sparrows right now, and White-throated Sparrows are becoming regular. Hummingbird migration is really kicking in. Yesterday I momentarily had a small one--noticeably smaller than the adult male Ruby-throat that chased it off--but didn't get a good look before it was gone. (I was holding my camera, but didn't get a shot before it got chased off.) -- Laura Erickson Duluth, MN For the love, understanding, and protection of birds There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. —Rachel Carson Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
