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Re: birding in August?
by Ted Floyd-3
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Hello, BirdChatters.
I've been enjoying the discussion about birding in August.
As Gordon Bonnet says:
> I know a lot of the local birding activity (I'm in
> upstate New York) has died down by August -- picks
> up again in mid-September with migration.
For sure, that's the conventional wisdom. Over the years, though, I've come to view the month of August as the most exciting in mid-latitude North America. Seriously. Birding in the month of August is, in a word, dynamic. Sure, it's awesome in southeastern Arizona, as several BirdChatters have noted. But it's truly exciting pretty much everywhere across the Lower 48.
Here are 5 things that are especially exciting about birding in August:
1. Juveniles. If you want a cutting-edge ID challenge, try recently fledged juveniles. These birds are out of the nest, they can fly, and they're more-or-less independent. Something as "easy" as a Mountain Bluebird or Western Tanager can be surprisingly hard to identify in August. If ID challenges aren't your thing (which is fine), there's the whole other angle of the fascinating biology of juveniles. It is well worth the effort to really pay attention to young Red-winged Blackbirds, Red-eyed Vireos, whatever.
2. Molt. All birds do it, and most North American birds are doing it, to some extent or another, in the month of August. (All of our breeding birds, I believe, have a "prebasic," or fall, molt.) As with juveniles, molt can present both an ID challenge and the opportunity to observe fascinating biology in action. If you want a "point of entry," so to speak, into the world of molt, check out all those male ducks in August. Or how about grebes? I wonder how many U.S. birders are aware that many grebes are flightless--in connection with molt--during much of the summer. I sure didn't know that until fairly recently.
3. Zugunruhe. It's a goofy word, but it's a really interesting phenomenon. The German, translated very loosely, comes out in English to "migratory restlessness." Prior to migration, many birds get fidgety, and this fidgetiness is easy to observe. In Colorado, for example, I've noticed a sharp increase in the number of flight calls given by Swainson's Thrushes and Veeries while still on the breeding grounds--after they've stopped singing, yet prior to migration. The August woods are alive with the flight calls of these and other species getting ready to migrate.
4. Nighttime. Many landbird species are on the move in August--even in July--and you can hear them at night. In Colorado, there are strong nighttime flights in August of Chipping Sparrows, Lark Sparrows, and Yellow Warblers. In fact, we get our heaviest night flights, it seems, in the last week of August, with decent nocturnal passages as early as late July. I love going out on hot August nights and hearing the chips and buzzes of invisible migrants in the dark.
5. Shorebirds! Even for avowed dicky-bird types like myself, the August shorebird flight across North America is a thing of wonder. You can witness this phenomenon practically anywhere: in big cities like New York and Chicago, at our national wildlife refuges, in deserts and grasslands, you name it. Our August shorebird flight has it all: ID challenges, if you want that; great biology for anybody to observe; and always the potential of some outlandish rarity.
One final thought, if I may. I guess this would be #6.
6. Lots of birds. My guess is there are more birds in North America in August than in any other month of the year. (Because of all the juveniles; they haven't died yet, as so many will, on fall migration and on the wintering grounds.) Just walk outside your house, wherever it is, and start looking and listening. Birds are conspicuous in August, they're doing fascinating things, and there are so many of them.
Ted Floyd
tedfloyd57@...
Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado
-------------------------------
Ted Floyd
Editor, Birding
-------------------------------
Please support the American Birding Association: Click on http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=884482 to search the internet.
Every search provides support to the ABA's programs in Education, Conservation, and Publications.
Please visit the website of the American Birding Association: http://www.aba.org
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I've been enjoying the discussion about birding in August.
As Gordon Bonnet says:
> I know a lot of the local birding activity (I'm in
> upstate New York) has died down by August -- picks
> up again in mid-September with migration.
For sure, that's the conventional wisdom. Over the years, though, I've come to view the month of August as the most exciting in mid-latitude North America. Seriously. Birding in the month of August is, in a word, dynamic. Sure, it's awesome in southeastern Arizona, as several BirdChatters have noted. But it's truly exciting pretty much everywhere across the Lower 48.
Here are 5 things that are especially exciting about birding in August:
1. Juveniles. If you want a cutting-edge ID challenge, try recently fledged juveniles. These birds are out of the nest, they can fly, and they're more-or-less independent. Something as "easy" as a Mountain Bluebird or Western Tanager can be surprisingly hard to identify in August. If ID challenges aren't your thing (which is fine), there's the whole other angle of the fascinating biology of juveniles. It is well worth the effort to really pay attention to young Red-winged Blackbirds, Red-eyed Vireos, whatever.
2. Molt. All birds do it, and most North American birds are doing it, to some extent or another, in the month of August. (All of our breeding birds, I believe, have a "prebasic," or fall, molt.) As with juveniles, molt can present both an ID challenge and the opportunity to observe fascinating biology in action. If you want a "point of entry," so to speak, into the world of molt, check out all those male ducks in August. Or how about grebes? I wonder how many U.S. birders are aware that many grebes are flightless--in connection with molt--during much of the summer. I sure didn't know that until fairly recently.
3. Zugunruhe. It's a goofy word, but it's a really interesting phenomenon. The German, translated very loosely, comes out in English to "migratory restlessness." Prior to migration, many birds get fidgety, and this fidgetiness is easy to observe. In Colorado, for example, I've noticed a sharp increase in the number of flight calls given by Swainson's Thrushes and Veeries while still on the breeding grounds--after they've stopped singing, yet prior to migration. The August woods are alive with the flight calls of these and other species getting ready to migrate.
4. Nighttime. Many landbird species are on the move in August--even in July--and you can hear them at night. In Colorado, there are strong nighttime flights in August of Chipping Sparrows, Lark Sparrows, and Yellow Warblers. In fact, we get our heaviest night flights, it seems, in the last week of August, with decent nocturnal passages as early as late July. I love going out on hot August nights and hearing the chips and buzzes of invisible migrants in the dark.
5. Shorebirds! Even for avowed dicky-bird types like myself, the August shorebird flight across North America is a thing of wonder. You can witness this phenomenon practically anywhere: in big cities like New York and Chicago, at our national wildlife refuges, in deserts and grasslands, you name it. Our August shorebird flight has it all: ID challenges, if you want that; great biology for anybody to observe; and always the potential of some outlandish rarity.
One final thought, if I may. I guess this would be #6.
6. Lots of birds. My guess is there are more birds in North America in August than in any other month of the year. (Because of all the juveniles; they haven't died yet, as so many will, on fall migration and on the wintering grounds.) Just walk outside your house, wherever it is, and start looking and listening. Birds are conspicuous in August, they're doing fascinating things, and there are so many of them.
Ted Floyd
tedfloyd57@...
Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado
-------------------------------
Ted Floyd
Editor, Birding
-------------------------------
Please support the American Birding Association: Click on http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=884482 to search the internet.
Every search provides support to the ABA's programs in Education, Conservation, and Publications.
Please visit the website of the American Birding Association: http://www.aba.org
_________________________________________________________________
Bing™ brings you maps, menus, and reviews organized in one place. Try it now.
http://www.bing.com/search?q=restaurants&form=MLOGEN&publ=WLHMTAG&crea=TEXT_MLOGEN_Core_tagline_local_1x1
BirdChat Guidelines: http://www.ksu.edu/audubon/chatguidelines.html
Archives: http://listserv.arizona.edu/archives/birdchat.html
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