[mou] the migration in general
Richard Hoyme
RHoyme@msn.com
Sun, 18 May 2003 23:44:43 -0500
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Could it be the heavy southern winds we have been having. Sometimes it se=
ems the birds go high up and take advantage of the southerly breezes and =
pass overhead. The real indications are whether the birds on their breedi=
ng grounds are typical of previous years. We will be able to tell that so=
on.
Rick Hoyme
----- Original Message -----
From: tapaculo@fishnet.com
Sent: Sunday, May 18, 2003 11:19 PM
To: MnBird@linux2.winona.msus.edu
Cc: mou-net@cbs.umn.edu
Subject: [mou] the migration in general
People have been sharing their enjoyable sightings on MN-Bird, but it mig=
ht
be valuable for this "online community" to pool observations of the 2003
migration in general (and of course any objective measures).
My own impression around Minneapolis is that it is disastrous, by the far
the worst in my 28 Springs here. I make brief stops most mornings at Rob=
erts
sanctuary or other "migrant traps" in town, and today was typical in havi=
ng
just a handful of passage migrants. There are not the usual plethora of
Tennessee Warblers on the streets, and when I've been out in the evening
I don't hear any birds flying over. The Minnesota RVNWR was dead yesterd=
ay
morning; other people have seen some species at Wood Lake, and last week
I saw a Black-throated Blue there, but pathetically few species and numbe=
rs.
Yeah, my faculties must be slipping, but not that dramatically! The big
question is, is it just the vagaries of migration, or an environmental ca=
tastrophe?
It's hardly inconceivable that West Nile Virus on top of habitat destruct=
ion
here and in the tropics has made the steady decline in populations become
precipitous. But yesterday at Murphy-Hanrehan, it seemed some of the bre=
eders
were in good numbers (Blue-Winged Warblers and Ovenbirds, and for some ob=
servers
in part of the park, Hooded Warblers), so maybe it's just an odd pattern
of migration, though others (Chestnut-sided Warblers and Wood Thrushes) s=
eemed
lacking. The species that strike me as doing well are all southern -- gn=
atcatchers,
Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Cooper's Hawk, etc. -- which might be predictabl=
e
given the climate warming.
Since I have been lazy and have not kept detailed records over the years,
I don't have quantitative evidence to back this up. Other people's recor=
ds
or impressions would be of interest.
Steve Greenfield
Minneapolis
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<HTML><BODY STYLE=3D"font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV>Could it be th=
e heavy southern winds we have been having. Sometimes it seems the birds =
go high up and take advantage of the southerly breezes and pass overhead.=
The real indications are whether the birds on their breeding grounds are=
typical of previous years. We will be able to tell that soon.</DIV> <DIV=
> </DIV> <DIV>Rick Hoyme</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style=3D=
"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0=
00000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt Arial">----=
- Original Message -----</DIV> <DIV style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 1=
0pt Arial; COLOR: black"><B>From:</B> tapaculo@fishnet.com</DIV> <DIV sty=
le=3D"FONT: 10pt Arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, May 18, 2003 11:19 PM</DIV> =
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt Arial"><B>To:</B> MnBird@linux2.winona.msus.edu<=
/DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt Arial"><B>Cc:</B> mou-net@cbs.umn.edu</DIV=
> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt Arial"><B>Subject:</B> [mou] the migration in =
general</DIV> <DIV> </DIV>People have been sharing their enjoyable s=
ightings on MN-Bird, but it might<BR>be valuable for this "online communi=
ty" to pool observations of the 2003<BR>migration in general (and of cour=
se any objective measures).<BR><BR>My own impression around Minneapolis i=
s that it is disastrous, by the far<BR>the worst in my 28 Springs here.&n=
bsp; I make brief stops most mornings at Roberts<BR>sanctuary or other "m=
igrant traps" in town, and today was typical in having<BR>just a handful =
of passage migrants. There are not the usual plethora of<BR>Tenness=
ee Warblers on the streets, and when I've been out in the evening<BR>I do=
n't hear any birds flying over. The Minnesota RVNWR was dead yester=
day<BR>morning; other people have seen some species at Wood Lake, and las=
t week<BR>I saw a Black-throated Blue there, but pathetically few species=
and numbers.<BR><BR>Yeah, my faculties must be slipping, but not that dr=
amatically! The big<BR>question is, is it just the vagaries of migr=
ation, or an environmental catastrophe?<BR>It's hardly inconceivable that=
West Nile Virus on top of habitat destruction<BR>here and in the tropics=
has made the steady decline in populations become<BR>precipitous. =
But yesterday at Murphy-Hanrehan, it seemed some of the breeders<BR>were =
in good numbers (Blue-Winged Warblers and Ovenbirds, and for some observe=
rs<BR>in part of the park, Hooded Warblers), so maybe it's just an odd pa=
ttern<BR>of migration, though others (Chestnut-sided Warblers and Wood Th=
rushes) seemed<BR>lacking. The species that strike me as doing well=
are all southern -- gnatcatchers,<BR>Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Cooper's H=
awk, etc. -- which might be predictable<BR>given the climate warming.<BR>=
<BR>Since I have been lazy and have not kept detailed records over the ye=
ars,<BR>I don't have quantitative evidence to back this up. Other p=
eople's records<BR>or impressions would be of interest.<BR><BR>Steve Gree=
nfield<BR>Minneapolis<BR><BR><BR>________________________________________=
_______<BR>mou-net mailing list<BR>mou-net@cbs.umn.edu<BR>http://cbs.umn.=
edu/mailman/listinfo/mou-net<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>
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