Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!decwrl!world!rmura From: rmura@world.std.com (Ron Mura) Newsgroups: rec.birds Subject: Re: Confused migrant? Message-ID: Date: 5 Oct 90 02:24:34 GMT References: <1990Oct4.172011.1686@granite.cr.bull.com> Sender: rmura@world.std.com (Ron Mura) Organization: The World Lines: 40 In-Reply-To: horvath@granite.cr.bull.com's message of 4 Oct 90 17:20:11 GMT In article <1990Oct4.172011.1686@granite.cr.bull.com> horvath@granite.cr.bull.com (John Horvath) writes: > > was discussing bird migration. They mentioned that early Radar > engineers use to believe that there was some sort of fall weather > phenomenon that happened at dusk that would cause extraneous beeps > on their radar screens. Eventually they discovered that it was large > groups of passerines that were apparently waiting in trees until > dark and then flew up and over the tree tops on their migration. A few months ago, there was an article in the paper about a scientist who had access to photos of these radar screens going back 25 years, and he was using them to demonstrate the dramatic drop-off in migrating birds over that period of time. > With the full moon the past few days, I was thinking about the > possibilities of being able to see migrants at night passing in front > of the moon. I've known birders who do that, and also listen and can identify migrants by call. One locally famous and well respected birder (he's high up in the Mass. Fish and Wildlife dept.) recorded 400 migrating blue-gray gnatcatchers one night in Wellesley, Mass., in the 1960s. The same fellow can supposedly identify birds flying in front on the full moon through his scope. > Speaking of migration collisions, in a local book put out by the > BBC (Brookline Bird Club) a few years ago, there was an interesting > article detailing the smashed species that were found around the base of the > Pruditial Tower in Boston. I work at John Hancock in Boston, which has a 60-story tower. One spring morning I found a dead scarlet tanager at the foot of the building, which was very sad. (I don't work in that building normally.) I've heard that it is fairly common in spring anyway (don't know about fall) to find dead birds in the morning. Ron -- - Ron Mura, Boston, Mass. rmura@world.std.com