The fall migration continues

I had a call this week from a family in the Fredericksburg area. They had a male scarlet tanager at their suet feeder for most of the month of August. That is certainly unusual but quite a delight to be so close to such a beautiful bird for an extended period of time.

There are still some warblers being found as well as migrant sparrows and waterfowl. At the same time some of our winter visitors have arrived.

The Bobolink Area Bird Hotline (574-642-1335) included a report on Oct. 2 that this probably will not be a good winter finch year because cone crops up north are better than average.

Some excellent birds found on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 included at least three or more Nelson’s sparrows and one LeConte’s sparrow at Funk Bottoms Wildlife Area. Also at Funk over the weekend were the following shorebirds: dunlin, stilt sandpiper, long-billed dowitcher, American golden plover and white-rumped sandpiper. A successful local sky-watch yielded four peregrine falcons, two merlins and several ospreys.

A late ruby-throated hummingbird was seen on Sept. 30. I’ll give an annual suggestion that folks leave hummingbird feeders up for another month or two. A rare western hummingbird may show up, the most likely being a rufous hummer from the Northwestern United States or Western Canada.

My wife Helen and I are in Pocatello, Idaho, spending some time with our daughter Kristi, who is teaching at Idaho State University. The three of us plan to spend a long weekend at Grand Teton National Park, and then Helen and I will head south to Utah for some time at Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.

It’s been cold here. We had a hard frost this week, and low temperatures around 23-25 F are predicted for the weekend. There is snow high on the mountain tops.

On a 4-mile hike this week, we saw flocks of yellow-rumped warblers and dark-eyed juncos. Overhead were several red-tailed hawks and a northern harrier. Swainson’s hawks are gone for the winter. Red-breasted nuthatches and black-capped chickadees seem to be common in wooded areas, especially ones with lots of pines and spruces.

The only woodpeckers in town seem to be northern flickers. Crows, starlings, brown-headed cowbirds, Brewer’s blackbirds, rock pigeons and house sparrows can be found almost anywhere in town. My favorite birds here in town are the black-billed magpies, which can be seen almost anywhere.

For the last two days I’ve been seeing lots of California gulls flying south over the main north-south road through town. I watched for an hour or so each morning and counted 1,200 one day and 900 the second day. It was the next best thing to counting hawks at Erie Metropark this time of year.

Good birding!

Bruce Glick is reachable at birderbruce@yahoo.com and 330-317-7798