Robert A. Culbert
The results of Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary’s annual Bird-a-thon tops the news for this week. A total of 119 species were observed from 6 p.m. on Friday, May 15, to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 16. Twenty-three birders participated in this marathon Massachusetts Audubon Society event, scheduled to coincide with the peak of the northward migration.
This stocky penguin-like species is black on its back and white on its throat and belly, is at most nine inches long, has a short stubby bill, and seems to lack a neck. Its legs are placed toward the rear of the bird to facilitate its swimming underwater, so it does not get around very well on land.
Birds are changing their winter ranges as a result of climate change. Average temperatures in January have increased more than five degrees Fahrenheit in the continental United States between 1966 and 2005, and the ranges of many species of birds in the early winter have shifted northward.
Migrating red-winged blackbirds have arrived! The red-wings that had left last fall are beginning to return after spending the winter in the southeastern United States. A sure sign of the coming spring even though it is still February. They announce their presence by their arrival at bird feeders, their brilliant red epaulets on their wings flashing and contrasting to the black everywhere else, and their singing from treetops. Soon they will be singing from our wetlands as the males set up their territories. The females, which are streaked brown sparrow-like birds, will arrive in another few weeks.
Sounds of water running in the gutters were unmistakable. It was the night of Feb. 7, and the skies were clear, so the source of the water was not a rainstorm. It was the sound of melting snow and ice draining off my roof; a welcome sound to my ears as it optimistically signifies that the winter’s deep freeze is over.
This meltwater is but one of the many signals of the coming spring.
This year’s Martha’s Vineyard Christmas Bird Count was held on Jan. 3. Ninety-three people participated in the count, with 55 individuals divided into 13 to 15-person field teams, and 38 people watching their bird feeders.
A total of 82,794 individuals and 129 species were recorded: 119 species and two subspecies on count day, and 10 other species in count week (the three days preceeding and following count day). The final results are listed below.
Species Number Counted
Snow goose (white morph) 9