Bill & Larry’s recent posts re: numbers of birds was proven this evening. Old habits are hard to break, as I’m an old “Great Backyard Bird Count” observer & record highest numbers of a species seen at one time. This evening, was walking on the place & saw a bird fly up to the top of a sagebrush, a Chipping Sparrow, in full breeding plumage.
As I kept watching, saw 3-4 others. Then, took about 3 steps forward & the ground exploded with Chipping Sparrows flying up. Saw at least 30 in flight. If I had just counted what I saw initially, number would have been off by at least 25.
Point of numbers is well taken. Remember reading a study from Cornell about Chickadees & it was found that for each one seen, there are at least 5 others. So, the 6 I usually spot, means at least 30 individuals are hitting the feeders.
I’m with you, Bill, on under-counts of feeder birds, because a) what we see at one time is just the minimum that are present, but it’s a start, b) mark/recapture estimates (e.g., banding) almost always reveal that there are more birds about, c) studies of energetics (food consumption minus losses to thieves) also supports a higher number… but it’s a tricky thing to evaluate, re: locals vs. migrants….. for hums, various eggspurts (tisk) have proffered multiples of 3x – 10x over the years, where x is what you might see at any one time… and the larger multiple represents a better estimate of numbers of birds present….so, is this perfectly ambiguous? haha
NOW listening to screech-owl outside my office window, and our local “branchers” (fledged great-horned owls) have dispersed from their home tree, with loud incoherent begging calls nearby
good morning, all
Larry
Cliff, does our current groups.io listserv have a setting we can change? when we hit “reply” many times we might be intending to reply offline to the sender, not to the group….. RL and I have both done this recently, inadvertently reply to the group, whereas the old IBLE default was to the sender I believe. Currently, we have to delete the group reply and enter the sender’s email… otherwise the group will receive what is meant as “private offline replies” which might not be suitable reading by our IBLE audience… does this make sense, or am i again being ambiguous?
I’m getting more BH grosbeaks showing up, both males and females and the female RW Blackbirds are here now also. I’m ready for the Evenings to leave, but I think they feature the Tractor Supply Sunflowers.
For anyone Interested the International site Crane Foundation is doing webinars on, wait for it, cranes. Last weeks was on western Sandhills and this week is climate change effects on cranes. Check their web for details.
One thought I have is a belief that feeder watchers way undercount the birds they see. The think the two Mountain Chickadees are the only two in the area while it’s likely a whole lot more are around, but we’ unaware of numbers beacuse the speedy guys look the same.
Brian and I have traded emails on this for years. I think he has many more hummers than he thinks whennhe counts feeder visits. The advantage of hummers is ther is little competition for the sugar water in our area and you can measure how much they consume and use factors for rough number counts. I see maybe 30 hummers I think at the feeders in July and August, but the sugar depletion says 400-500 are using my five feeders.
I think think feeder birds are much mjore abudant than we think assuming we count them at our feeders as single individuals , let alone knowing how many of the ornery buggers bypass our offerings.
On May 10, 2020, at 3:11 PM, Jon Barnett <jrb4jc@…> wrote:
The Northern Mockingbird is here right now, being very vocal perched right out in the open. Mud flat Road.. New Idaho Bird for me! Thanks for the reports, jonathan barnett
Ken Miracle chukar28@… 208-570-2780 “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God” 2COR 3:5
There’s been a change today in birds. Cassin’s Finch numbers are down to just 3-4, all females. And Evening Grosbeaks have decreased to about a dozen from a high of 30. They’re about evenly split, male to female. There are more Yellow Warblers & Lazuli Buntings appearing. Also, a small flock, 4-5, Cedar Waxwings showed yesterday.
More male Black-headed Grosbeaks are appearing at the feeder now. A new bird for the season today was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. And, both a male & female Black-chinned Hummingbird are hitting the nectar feeder, but not at the same time. There’s a Sharp-shinned Hawk which keeps the Eurasian Collared Doves greatly thinned. I rarely see more than 2-3 at a time & find a pile of their gray dove feathers about every 10 days or so. During the winter, the Sharpie adds an occasional Junco to his diet. The Blue Jay was here yesterday but haven’t seen today.
The Northern Mockingbird is here right now, being very vocal perched right out in the open. Mud flat Road.. New Idaho Bird for me! Thanks for the reports, jonathan barnett
Late this morning Greg Lambeth of Moscow found a Black Tern and 5 White-faced Ibis at different ponds along Little Bear Ridge Road north of Kendrick in Latah County. I was quickly able to refind these 2 local rarities and new birds for my Latah County list. On my way back home, I ran into a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD on Dry Creek Road one tenth of a mile northeast of the intersection with Davidson Road and exactly at the location of this eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S68723903. Not sure the last time I got three new Latah County birds in one day (much less one hour). Greg and Neil Paprocki have both refound the Mockingbird this afternoon. It looks like there is one previous report of a Mockingbird in Latah County, from near Moscow in July 2008 by Jerry Cebula.
Fun, Brian! I meant to send a note this morning, but had to get on the road early and forgot. My FOY Bullock’s Orioles just showed up last night – they were the last Spring bird I was anticipating, although I have not heard a Yellow Warbler
or Yellow-breasted Chat signing along the creek yet… I was on my way to chase the Blackpoll Warbler today when I saw the IBLE note that lots of others were already on the chase with no success, drat it. G’night all…Jonathan, Horseshoe Bend
Today’s Spring arrival was a male Bullock’s Oriole. Now, waiting for a male W Tanager & my personal list for what it takes to really be Spring, bird-wise, will be complete.
Both Evening Grosbeaks & Cassin’s Finches continue at the feeder. As do quick visits by the Blue Jay. White-crowned Sparrows are here, 1 Lincoln’s Sparrow & Dark-eyed Juncos are down to just a couple.
Brian Carrigan Blackfoot
Home of Idaho Birding and the Idaho Bird Records Committee
