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Early movements
- To: carolinabirds@duke.edu
- Subject: Early movements
- From: "Paul Champlin" <skua99@hotmail.com>
- Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 18:20:16 -0500
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
Hi Folks,
A few of us working with birds at the SRS in New Ellenton, SC have noticed
some interesting movement-related items on site.
Hermit Thrush abundance slowly diminished in the sandhills during late
November, December, January and early February. This is probably due to the
slow breakdown in their winter territories as a result of diminishing fruit
supplies (in fall they duke it out for the best winter foraging areas and
defend them from intruders). Well recently we have picked them back up on
censuses, casual observations etc. and the numbers are building (I had about
25 dash in front of the truck today as I drove my Red-cockaded routs).
Meanwhile, Robins have been foraging less on fruit and more on
animal-protein out in the open fields and also within the forest. I had 17
in a 5X5 foot area in my yard where lots of crickets and other inverts tend
to hang out (they would listen intently, scrape leaves aside and eat an
insect… listen, scrape, eat…). Red-headed Woodpeckers that could only be
found in the bottomlands of the Savannah this winter are returning to the
sandhill pine-stands once again. My guess is that we are already seeing the
early movements of migration. I am only further convinced by the cacophony
of full, territorial song (Pine Warblers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, both ruby
and Golden-cr. Kinglets, Phoebes, Gnatcatcher (today) etc. etc. etc.).
Tick, tick, tick… It’s only a matter of time.
Paul Champlin
New Ellenton, SC
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