This morning I had a brief encounter with a Brown Thrasher at Mud Lake WMA in Jefferson county. Specifically at these coordinates: 43.90026, -112.39204
I wish I had a photo to share but it decided to leave after our minute long staring contest while I was slowly reaching for my camera!
I certainly hope you’re not experiencing the hacking and coughing. You bring up interesting points to consider. The northern birds that breed or winter in the forested areas that are burning had to make adjustments or die.
Hopefully, some ornithologists and bird behaviorists will have information to share that will enlighten us.
I would assume birds likely do have breathing and other resperatory problems same as humans, exacerbated by having smaller lungs, powered flight thru bad air being crammed into those lungs, smoke-filled break rooms while waiting for the next birder’s field trip to show in the local hotspot, etc.. I mean, do birds cough, hack, wheeze and sneeze in bad air like us. I know nesting season is over, so no more singing, but, birds should still be doing some calling and I am not hearing much, even with my new hearing aids tuned into the outdoors mode. I know there are a myriad of sources for bird calls, songs, wing noises etc.. I know about Macauley and xeno-canto, use them, both being pre-dominant in the sonogram field with plenty others, I am sure, being available.
So, I am wondering, what with all that smoke in our air lately what sources are available for other bird sounds that I am not aware of, maybe something along the lines of a Ma”cough”ly or a “wheezo-sneezo” or some such, that would be accessable for these other coughings, hackings, wheezings and sneezings that surely birds must make in these smoky conditions.
Certainly not huge numbers, just 2-3 Warblers at a time. But, main birds coming through at this time are: Orange -crowned & Wilson’s Warblers, Gray Catbirds & RB Nuthatches. Do have a few Pine Siskins at seed feeder. Nectar feeder down to two juv Calliope Hummingbirds today. Main hummer push seems to have faded & stragglers coming through, now. Nectar only dropping by an oz or two per day, past sev days.
