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Re: Western species irruption (fingers crossed)



Greetings,

Paul Champlin's finger crossings about western birds moving east due to fire
damage is probably a bit optomistic. Having just returned from the
Yellowstone and Tetons area, and a lot of ground around there, I can report
that I actually saw NO fire damage (dating from 2000; TONS dating from
1988). In conversations with locals about fires, the actual extent of
damage, although large compared with most years, is proportionately
miniscule. We easily forget how much bigger western states are compared with
eastern ones. Moreover, I suspect that weather patterns, not fire is
responsible for birds moving east as opposed to south in fall. Anyway, I
wouldn't mind another winter influx of good western birds (e.g., Pacific
Slope Flycatcher).

While on the subject of the trip, I was somewhat disappointed in the hawks I
saw, or didn't see. I expected to see some movement but it did not
materialize. In fact, I saw only a few Red-tails, 3 eagles (2 Golden, 1
Bald) a couple harriers, a couple kestrels and 1 large falcon, probably
Prairie. I saw a couple of Yellow-rumped (Audubon's) warblers and nothing
else that could remotely be thought of as a migrant. However, I did find a
couple flocks of Barrow's Goldeneye and a half dozen Trumpeter Swans.
Mammals were much better, including 8 Gray Wolves (technically, 3 black, 5
gray), thousands of Bison, lots of Elk, a few Moose, Coyotes, Pronghorn
Antellope, Mule Deer, etc. I kept missing bears (both Black and Grizzly).

Cheers,

Mike Tove
Cary, NC
mtove@insureain.com