The Law of Diminishing Returns is an economics term that when applied to birding states... "When you reach a certain level on your yard list, you will no longer be able to add more than one species to the list in a day " Glad to say that as I reached 160 species on my list, my rate of returns still allowed me to add a pair of birds to my list today, when I added an Orange-crowned Warbler to my list this afternoon...
The Migration Map wasn't very promising for new birds arriving in my area last night. But 5 Trumpeter Swans and a Peregrine Falcon made for a worthwhile morning despite the unfavorable winds and dreary gray sky.
It was the second year in a row that I had an early morning Peregrine leisurely pass over my yard.
I came real close to missing the swans, firstly because they passed by just after I stepped out of the house as I moved my observing session from the yard to the deck. Secondly my camera battery was just about dead when I took the photos of them. The battery, in fact, died as I was first reviewing the photos. Why didn't I change the battery when I noticed that it was low, you ask? Because since I dropped my camera on the kitchen floor last week my Canon camera doesn't recognize my Canon batteries and thinks that they are third party knock-offs. Although the battery still powers everything it cannot communicate its level of charge to be displayed on the camera. Trumpeters can be quite vociferous and can be heard bugling from quite a distance. These birds, on the other hand, stood mute.
The Trumpeters are new to the yard list, species 159. By the way my goal for the year was to get to 160 by the end of the 2021.
Last night the BirdCast migration map forecast that strong southwest winds would nudge up to 300 million birds along on their trek northward. The live migration map showed that according to the Doppler Radar Network over 500 million birds were airborne just before 1:00 AM ET. Exceeds expections, indeed.
Like a kid in anticipation of Christmas, I went to bed a little early but had a hard time falling asleep and woke up well before sunrise. When I went out after daybreak the first thing that I noticed were the dozens of Chipping Sparrows scattered all over my lawn. My high count was 38.
Next I added a couple of warblers to the year list. Palm Warbler
...and Black Throated Green
Other 'first of the year' birds were Red-headed Woodpecker...
Last but not least I added a Swamp Sparrow to the all-time yard list which is now at 158.
Dave Dister called this morning to tell of a photo op of 6 Great Egrets at the marsh on Pere Marquette Highway south of Ludington. I headed out there and saw a group of 5 egrets in the middle of the west side of the marsh and another one to the south near Sutton's Landing. After a couple of distant photos, two more egrets flew towards the landing. So I packed up and headed to the parking lot there for a closer look. The view of the egrets from there was quite obscured by cattails. Just as I was repositioning for a better view I noticed 4 dark birds approaching my location. I dismissed them as Double-crested Cormorants until they turned and I saw their long curved bills in profile. Ibises. Before I could get any shots off they completed a U-turn and headed away from me. They quickly circled back and I fired off a series of poorly illuminated photos.
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| Cooper's Hawk |
