Tuesday, October 25, 2016

White-breasted Nuthatch movement






Have been seeing White-breasted Nuthatches EVERYWHERE recently...

Not expected... (including places like Point Pelee - where I saw 5 at the tip TOGETHER recently)

Didn't bother to do  a quick search of eBird, but I assume one would  fimd several other "new" or "high count" style records - wherever they aren't expected - in the last month or so....

(insert your ebird checklists you found here)


---


So - keep your eyes peeled for WBNU!! Perhaps this is a good time to look for other unlikely-irruptive species too? (Who knows?)

Rare bird weather is slowing down a bit (see the previous post before the titmouse post) --- sooner or later a dynamite bird is going to be found somewhere OTHER than Chippewa County in the UP of Michigan...

Will it be you?




7 comments:

  1. I'll be doing a lake watch along the south-eastern shore of Lake Huron this weekend. That seems like a likely spot to find a rarity.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've certainly been noticing a lot! If you look at the eBird map, almost all the records of WBNU from Timmins & Timiskaming area (including Quebec) are from this fall.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's pretty crazy eh? I was a bit too lazy to actually write anything, but I've seen a few dozen in active diurnal migration... I wonder if the northerly records indicate that (some?) of these WBNU are coming from areas further south? Or if they just wander in all directions??

      (Also - neat that there are some "new" ebird patterns emerging too - I never did look...)

      Delete
  3. Red-bellied Woodpeckers seem to be on the move too - lots of reports out of range on NWOBirds and a few elsewhere. My guess is a good breeding season and a poor acorn crop in the states but I don't know any way of checking that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder if warm weather + lack of rain would = high breeding success but also = poor seed crops for many species (hence why many species seem to be moving in multiple directions??)

      Delete