Bill is choosing his time there, based on when he can go. Whereas, Jimmy and I cover the Broad-wing season based on covering the most logical days for seeing them. And we sometimes don't brave the bad weather. (except the heat) This is in part due to how it affects our health, but also because we must be there many days in a row, for long hours, so we choose for content. Although covering the watch in October and November would benefit from an approach of greater coverage, it's brutal some days. So any day Bill decides to spend any time up there, is to be applauded. Let me not paint a picture, however, that says he chooses the times he goes only by co-incidence or work schedule. I am sure he often goes up hoping to see hawks on a certain day, because he might have past data that says for 10 of our seasons, that day was profitable. Or conditions would otherwise be perfect.
We all know the days that we sat in crowds, because the conditions were perfect and didn't see the hawks. At the end of those days we always come away trying to make an explanation. Most often the explanation is that the hawks were too high to see in blue sky, or they were flying another path. Both legitimate reasons. And those elements apply in the colder months as well.
Bill gives us another perspective, unique to cold weather, to consider. How does Snow in areas around us affect the flights of migrants? Ice or freezing weather might be obvious---or is it? We know how migrants fly before and after fronts in September. What do we know about these very cold fronts, and how they affect migrants? Notice his speculations on the day he could visually see the snow.
But, there is something to be said about covering only when you can "work in" a few hours.
1. It's coverage, but
2. It's random.
And that can also be valuable, because there is no element of calculated evaluation. It's what you see, when you see it. And that is a valuable element to keeping our predetermination in check. To help us remember, that nature is nature. And birds have wings.
Ken Dubke often has told us, that birds experience that freedom of choosing when and where to fly - and we sometimes forget that. Even to the extreme of setting our expectations of what could be seen too low. We have also learned as birders, that storms and winds from other parts of the country can affect greatly the kinds of unusual species that come to be seen.
Here's Bill's report:
"11/16/15: Arrive
10:00, left 1:15. Total 3.25 hr.
10:00 Wind NE 1-2, clouds 90%,
visib. 30K, temp. 49F, humidity 68%, baro. 30.35
11:00 clouds 80%, visib. 45K, temp.
51F, hum. 65%, baro. 30.34
12:00 clouds 75%, temp. 56F, hum.
42%, baro. 30.32
No reading taken 1:00
hr.
Sharp-shinned –
1
Red-shouldered –
1 (ad.)
Red-tailed –
4
Sandhill cranes 19
_____________________________
11/19/15: Arrive
9:45, left 2:45. Total – 5.0 hr.
9:45: wind WNW 1-3, clouds 15%,
visib. 85K, temp. 55F, hum. 83%, baro. 30.11
10:00: wind NE 1-3, clouds 30%,
temp. 56F, hum. 84%, baro. 30.15
11:00: clouds 15%, visib. 100K,
temp. 59F, hum. 67%, baro. 30.16
12:00: clear, wind NNW
2-8
1:00: temp. 64F, hum. 49%, baro.
30.13
2:00: temp. 65F, hum. 48%, baro.
30.11
Northern Harrier
– 1
Bald Eagle – 3 (2
ad., 1 imm.)
Sharp-shinned –
2
Red-tailed –
6
Snow goose: (55) 12:50 (2 V’s flying
close together), (20) 12:56, (35) 1:14, (45) 1:22. Total 155, all heading
S/SE
Butterflies: Gulf Fritillary,
Question Mark, Cloudless Sulphur
Dragonfly: Autumn
Meadowhawk
Thousands of ladybugs
swarming. Spent a lot of time just brushing them off me and my clothes. If I’d
been doing a ladybug count it would have been several
thousand!
________________________________
11/20/15: Arrive
9:45, left 3:30. Total – 5.75 hr.
9:45: wind NE 10-15, clear, visib.
90K, temp. 49F, hum. 46%, baro. 30.31
10:00: wind NE 5-10, temp. 52F, hum.
38%, baro. 30.31
11:00: wind ENE 2-8, 54F, hum. 31%,
baro. 30.31
12:00: clouds 20% - (all behind me),
temp. 56F, hum. 26%, baro. 30.29
1:00: wind NE 5-10, clouds 25%,
temp. 58F, hum. 22%, baro. 30.25
2:00: clouds 30%, temp. 60F, hum.
26%, baro. 30.22
3:00: clouds 35%, temp. 59F, 24%,
baro. 30.18
Turkey Vulture –
15
Northern Harrier
– 2 (first bird of the day was a beautiful female which flew low right overhead
– a rarity.)
Bald Eagle – 3
(all adults)
Cooper’s Hawk –
2
Red-shouldered –
8 (Most that were close enough to see well were adults. This might be a new daily record for
RS.)
Red-tailed –
15
_____________________________
11/22/15:
Arrive 1:15, left 2:45. Total – 1.5
hr.
1:15: wind N 10-15, clouds 5%,
visib. 85K, temp. 45F, hum. 33%, baro. 30.15
2:00: temp. 46F, hum. 38%, baro.
30.14
What I can tell you
is:
1). This was the coldest day so far
this fall.
2). When the wind was blowing, it
was colder than a certain part of a witch’s anatomy in a brass brassiere.
3). On the higher mountains to the
east (all Cherokee Natl. Forest), including Big Frog and several other tall
ones, there was snow up top
4). I was very hopeful - reports of
11+ inches of snow in Chicago and snow in New York state gave me hope that the
hawks would be coming south in numbers.
5). I was wrong about the hawks.
Looks like they had enough sense to get south on Friday.
Red-tailed –
1
Sandhill Crane – 59 (all going
SE)
Reporting: Bill Haley"
____________________________________
Two notes:
1. Bill saw 3 Bald Eagles on two days. It is important therefore, to report the ages of those birds, at least estimated ages, so that we can say with some confidence that we were not seeing the same 3 birds. Even on a larger number of Eagles at once, it becomes invaluable to know so we can conclude, we didn't just see this bird the day before. It isn't absolute, but becomes highly probable, as we have examined the numbers, ages and pictures of these birds for years, that we are seeing mostly different Eagles when we are able to count them as migrants. I personally like to examine our migrants for specific features, like the pinkish hue in their white feathers, which indicates a 4th year bird whose white feathers still maintain some pigment. It's subtle, but may allow that I can tell this Eagle from the next one which flies through with clean dense white head and tail feathers, and know it's an older bird, and therefore different. I often hear our counters, call out, "It's missing a wing feather on that right wing" regarding a migrant single bird. It lets us know not to count it again, or that the next seemingly identical bird, actually is not. It's a little thing, I guess. But I'll bet dozens of raptors have been added to our counts when we make these notes, mental or written, and we can be sure of those counts.
and
2. On any given day, you never know what new and wonderful sighting might be flying through our airspace. (Evidenced by the 155 Snow Geese Bill was able to count!) Therefore, we have learned the importance of someone being there to see it and to -
KEEP LOOKING UP!!!!!!
Hope all had a wonderful Thanksgiving,
and may you have safe and joyful upcoming holidays!
Jimmy and Cynthia Wilkerson
