Migration Fallout

Birds Falling Out of the Sky

Summer Tanager

On Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 26 and 27, the northeast had over 100 mm rain, fog, and winds up to 100 km/h out of the south and southeast.  That severe weather forced a lot of migrating birds to 'fallout'.    When migrating flocks meet severe weather such as heavy rain and/or opposing winds, they look for the nearest landfall and put down.  Here they rest and feed to replenish energy reserves. This rare phenomenon is difficult for the birds but exciting for birders.  It often brings rare species into areas in which they are not normally seen.  For decades birders have made the connection between bad weather and good birding opportunities.

This is exactly what happened in the Passamaquoddy Bay, Bay of Fundy area over the weekend.  Rare birds sought landfall in Grand Manan, Campobello and Nova Scotia.  Flocks of rare species were found in these areas on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  In some cases there were 12 to 20 individuals seen of species which we don't normally see here.

Birders in these 3 areas found basically the same species, indicating that the flocks were mixed with these same species.  There were likely also smaller flocks of single species.  These birds will likely remain in place for a few days until they have sufficiently fed and the weather provides favourable winds to continue their migration.  

Summer Tanager

Birders in these areas reported the birds feeding furiously on insects or whatever they could find for food.  According to one seasoned birder, Sunday, Oct. 29,  was his 'most memorable [day] for bird rarities all concentrated together'.  Most birders reported the same group of species.

Seen were the following species:  Summer Tanager (as seen above), Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-billed Cuckoo, Hooded Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Cattle Egret, Golden-winged Warbler, Indigo Bunting.  There were dozens of Indigo Buntings.  The vireos were seen in many places.  The Golden-winged Warbler is very rare.  The Hooded Warbler is also very rare here and 8 were seen.  All of the above represent fabulous birding.

Hooded Warbler [Internet Photo]

 A fallout is risky for the birds.  They are forced to put down in unfamiliar territory.  Whether they find food safely is sometimes questionable.  Their safety from predators, pollution, human interference, etc. is a big risk.  It appears the birds that put down here in our area are safe and are feeding well.  

Shown below are two photographs taken by Ralph Eldridge on Machias Seal Island of a fallout of warblers.  A flock had put down because of bad weather and were literally everywhere around the lighthouse buildings.  There are several kinds of warblers in the group.  The warblers left the next day when the weather cleared and the winds were favourable.

Migration Fallout of Warblers on Machias Seal Island [Ralph Eldridge Photo]

Migration Fallout of Warblers on Machias Seal Island [Ralph Eldridge Photo]

I will close with an interesting bird fallout story to illustrate just how extensive this phenomenon can be.  In April, 2013, a team of 6 birders created a record in Texas by seeing 294 species in one day due to a fallout which had occurred in that area due to bad weather and large flocks migrating northward.  Migration is indeed an event of huge magnitude and we can get a small glimpse into it when weather interferes.

Poetic Moments

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul, 

And sings the tune without the words,

and never stops at all.

And sweetest is the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson, 

1830 - 1866

***

After being away on holiday,

I felt like coming back to simplicity today

with a short blog entry 

and two black and white images

which both speak to me on this quiet Sunday morning.

The lovely poem is by one of my favourite American poets:

Emily Dickinson

Bird Migration

Bird Migration is an Amazing Phenomenon

Birds migrate to move to and from areas of abundant food and nesting sites and back to areas with milder winter weather and suitable habitat and food sources.  That means that in the spring and fall there are millions of birds moving north and south through our skies and landscapes.  These are critical times for the birds, exposing them to the dangers of navigating the huge land areas of human development, the exposure to predators, pollution, collisions, starvation, exhaustion, severe weather, and other dangers.

Cattle Egret

Migration periods bring strange birds to our province.  These birds have somehow been misled or driven off their normal flight paths to arrive here.  Just to mention a few of what has occurred in New Brunswick this year, we have a Cattle Egret (shown above) and a Western Meadowlark in Grand Manan this week (see photo below).  There has been a Burrowing Owl also on Grand Manan for about two months.  There has been a Crested Caracara in the Shepody/Alma area for a month.  There is a Fork-tailed Flycatcher on Miscou now and there was a Scissors-tailed Flycatcher at Cape Enrage recently.  There was a Swainson's Hawk and two Yellow-throated Warblers on Miscou last week.  All these species are well away from their normal areas.  

Incredibly just this week there was a bird found in Forteau, NL (on the Labrador coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence) which is normally found from Finland east to Siberia and south to southern China.  This bird is a Yellow-breasted Bunting and has never been seen in eastern North America before.  There have been a few sightings of it over the years on the Aleutian Islands in the far western part of Alaska.

The Cattle Egret shown above should be in Georgia, Florida or Texas now, not in New Brunswick.  The   Burrowing Owl shown below should be in Florida, southwestern US or Mexico now, not here.  

Burrowing Owl

Why do birds make mistakes?  Why do they appear in places that are obviously way off their normal migration paths?  That is a difficult question and the answers are diverse.  Bad weather and severe wind storms play a big part.  Other reasons include disruption in their navigation systems by manmade structures and communication waves/towers, confusion within the bird itself related to its navigation system and many other reasons some of which are unknown.  There are other reasons related to the species population or circumstances which promote a behaviour called 'dispersal' which causes some of the birds to fly away from their normal flight paths.  This is an evolutionary strategy for the potential success or dispersal of the species.  

Western Meadowlark [Jennifer Pierce Photo]

In recent years great strides have been made in the research on bird migration.  In the 1940s the best technique for studying bird migration was to use telescopes to watch the birds as they passed in front of the moon.  Bird banding has been used for hundreds of years but since the recapture rate is only 1.3%, it reveals relatively little data.  In the 1950s they began to use radar to study the movement of bird masses during migration.  Since the 1970s scientists have been using geolocators and satellite transmitters.  Geolocators are small and can be used to track the movement of birds.  A Swainson's Thrush, for example, was tracked in its migration flight from Alaska to the southern Amazon region.  Satelite transmitters are heavy and can be used on birds no smaller than Mourning Doves.  

Scientists are now using nano tags which emit VHF radio waves and can be received by the Motus Network of towers.  They are very small and can be used on creatures as small as insects, making them very useful for birds.  To date 10,000 birds, bats and insects have been tagged.  This method has been much more successful than anything in the past.

But science is not done yet!  High Resolution Genetic Markers are also recently being used.  These measure DNA from feathers and by isotope analysis they can determine where the bird was hatched and where it has been.  It will be interesting to see what data can be gathered from this new technique.

These latter techniques have gathered a lot of data on bird migration.  We know a lot more about it now than they did in 1960 or 1970.  However, we have done little to help the birds and improve their migration success.  We need to preserve key stopover sites, to clear the night skies for them to successfully migrate.  We need to turn off our night lights on large buildings and other prime collision sites.  We need to protect flocks that are forced down during weather fallouts.  The key is education and action.  We must get the general population and cities and municipalities involved.  Four percent decline per year is way too much!!

Gray Jay

Visit with the Gray Jays

Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)

We recently took a trip to Claudie, an abandoned, overgrown settlement deep in the woods north of Fredericton.  We stopped for a visit with a friend who was working on his cottage there. He had a group of Gray Jays which had been habituated to humans.  They soon visited with us and expected a handout.  

At first they landed nearby in the trees making a variety of noises, mostly 'wee-ah' or 'chuck chuck chuck'.  Next, one bird landed on our friend's arm which prompted his producing gifts of bread for the birds.  They then flew in close to take the bread from our hands, even landing on our heads a couple of times.  After stuffing their bills with food, they would fly off and remain away for a few minutes before returning for more.  This was repeated many times.  It was obvious they were storing the food somewhere.

Gray Jay Coming for a Treat

The Gray Jay is about 29.2 cm (11.5 in) long and appears to be a jay with a long tail and no crest on its head.  It has dark gray upper parts, light gray underparts, a white head with a dark gray nape.  Its gray tail is tipped with a narrow white band.  It has a noticeably small black beak and black legs and feet.  The young Gray Jay is dark gray all over except for a faint light gray moustachial line. Juveniles gain their adult plumage in July or August.   Gray Jays on territory live an average of 8 years.  The oldest known Gray Jay was 17 years old (banded and recaptured).  

Gray Jays are omnivorous.  They hunt arthropods, small mammals such as rodents, and nestling birds.  They also hunt amphibians and even land on moose in the winter and remove and eat engorged ticks from their backs.  They also eat carrion, fungi, seeds and fruit.  Gray jays twist and tug their food apart unlike blue jays which hammer it.   

Gray Jay

The Gray Jay inhabits the boreal forest of most of Canada.  Its range also extends into the western US in mountainous areas where there is boreal forest.  Its population is sparse, however.  

Gray Jays are permanent residents throughout their range.  They do not migrate.  They survive the winter months on food they have carefully cached all year.  This may prevent them from migrating.  They have a unique way of caching food.  They roll the food around in their mouths and coat it with a special sticky saliva which allows them to safely stick it into the crevices of bark and under lichens.  It also seems to help preserve the food.  This is then used to feed nestlings and the adults throughout the seasons when food is scarce.  They have good memories and know in great detail where their food is stored.  

Gray Jays nest in late winter, usually March or April.  The female does not leave the nest in such cold weather and is fed by the male.  Both parents feed the nestlings.  Each Gray Jay pair also has a juvenile which remains with them throughout the year to help feed the nestlings when they fledge.  Apparently when the fledglings mature there is a lot of rivalry among them to see which is dominant and 'wins' the chore of remaining with the adults for another year.  Researchers have measured high mortality in the other juveniles which are driven away from the parental area.  They team up with other jays which have had nesting failures that season.  

Gray Jay

The Gray Jay has several colloquial names.  Here it is often called the Canada Jay.  In 2016 an online poll was conducted by the Canadian Geographic magazine to select a national bird for Canada.  The Canada Jay was selected from the top five choices, although it was not number 1.  Another name for the bird is the Whisky Jack.  The origin of that name is interesting.  Since the species is associated with the history of First Nations cultures, the name comes from that.  There was a benevolent First Nations mythological figure called Wisakedjak, and the name for the bird was anglicized from that to Whisky Jack.  In Maine the bird is sometimes called Moose Bird or Gorby.  It is possible the derivation of the name, Gorby, is from the Scottish and Irish word root 'gorb' which means 'glutton' or 'greedy'.

Apparently there was a superstition in the early 20th century among Maine and New Brunswick woodsmen which prevented anyone from harming a Gray Jay.  They believed that whatever they did to a Gray Jay would happen to them.  I wonder what effect that had on the human habituation of the species.  We are probably seeing the effects of that early treatment of this species even today.  

There were three birds in the group we saw in Claudie.  They must have been a pair and their juvenile assistant.  Neat!

A killer whale of a tale: when peer review sometimes fail.

 

Photo:  Rachael Griffin - aquagreenmarine.org
The extensive wear seen on the teeth of offshore killer whales may be caused by preying on sharks.

It would be interesting to know how appropriate and stringent the peer review was undertaken on this paper before it was published.  Judging by the credentials of the authors and the methodology used this paper seems to be very poor and really does not elevate the reputation of the journal Archives of Oral Biology.

When examining claims in the scientific press one always tend to look to whether or not the evidence that this is based on has been subject to peer review.  Science journalism can be something of a mixed bag and with the ever increasing need to produce headlines that will generate attention (clickbait) and advertising revenue.

One such example is a recent news report in the web based science news outlet Phys.Org entitled: "Killer toothaches likely cause misery for captive orca". The article relates to a paper published in the Archives of Oral Biology that claims that tooth damage in captive killer whales is endemic and harmful to the animals. However a closer look at the paper and its authors give some calls for concern.

 

Looking at what is available in the original paper it seems that the assessments made were from photographs taken by various individuals whilst visiting various facilities.  None of the authors appears to have had direct access to physically examine the teeth of any of these animals. The methodology of the data gathering is questionable and it is unlikely that all animals within the groups studied were assessed effectively. The authors clearly wanted to fit their hypothesis to the available data.

Only one of the authors,  Carolina Loch, has any academic qualification in dentistry. Although Dr Lock's claim in the Phys.Org article that the animals would have to have there teeth cavities flushed out with "chemicals” unfortunately resonates strongly with the mantra of the pseudo scientists when promoting An Appeal to Nature. These do not sound like the words of an objective scientist.

It should be noted that humans regularly the clean their teeth and wash their mouths out with “chemicals” to promote oral hygiene on the recommendation of a dentist. Moreover there is a growing trend in veterinary dentistry for both domestic and wild animals which would also use various chemicals to combat disease and promote the health of gums and teeth.

Moreover, the paper does acknowledge the fact that tooth erosion is seen commonly in wild cetaceans but it's not very clear on what kind of comparative analysis was used. Tooth erosion in wild killer whales is well documented.

A 5-metre wild killer whale that stranded on Saleens beach in Ireland in February 2015.  Extensive tooth erosion can be seen on this animal. Photo: Noel Browne. The MunsterExpress

Further, four of the authors are actively are opposed to killer whales in captive care:

 

Jeffrey Ventre and John Jett are former SeaWorld trainers who both left this facility in 1995 - with Ventre being dismissed for misconduct. They both appeared in the film Blackfish. Jett is now a biologists and lab coordinator and Ventre is now a physiotherapist

Ingrid Visser a scientist based in New Zealand who has undertaken work with wild killer whales. However her only direct contact with caring for a killer whale resulted in the death of a neonate killer whale due to her lack of experience in this field.

Jordan Waltz is a freelance graphic designer who has undertaken work for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation. Interestingly, his mailing address on the paper is the address of animal rights activist Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project in Santa Monica an organisation Waltz actively contributes to in their news blogs. In his bio on this web site he states:

“...I am an artist by day, researcher by night. I served as archivist and researcher for the documentary films "Blackfish" and "Vancouver Aquarium: Uncovered." Most of my writings cater towards the lesser-known corners of the cetacean captivity issue...”

A small example of the large number of blogs and articles written by Jordan waltz for the Dolphin Project.

These facts alone should be a red flag to the actual objectivity and underlying agenda of this paper.

It would be interesting to know how appropriate and stringent the peer review was undertaken on this paper before it was published.  Judging by the credentials of the authors and the methodology used this paper seems to be very poor and really does not elevate the reputation of the journal Archives of Oral Biology.

Also see:  Response to the publication in The Journal of Oral Biology “Tooth damage in captive orcas”
 
Notes on tooth erosion in wild killer whales

Tooth erosion in wild killer whales is quite common but it is related to their diet. Broadly speaking killer whales dietary behaviour falls into three distinct areas: whales that exclusively feed on fish; whales thay exclusively feed on marine mammals and whales who adopted both behaviours which can be dependent on seasonality or migratory patterns.

It is the fish eating killer whales that appears to have the most evidence of tooth erosion with those that exclusively predatory mammals having the least.

A display of killer whales skulls and teeth accompanied by a video presentation was made regarding this subject at the British National History Museum special exhibition entitled: Whales Beneath the Waters which ran from June 2017 to February 2018.

Willet

The Willet is a Shorebird 

Willet Showing Breeding Plumage

The Willet (Tringa semipalmata) is a fairly common shorebird which breeds in grassy marshes along the marine shores of the Maritime provinces.  It is a large, rather plump shorebird, a little larger than a yellowlegs.  It has a thick gray bill and gray legs.  It is 38 cm (15") long and appears long-legged.  It feeds by probing along the shore and sometimes in the water.

Willet

As in most shorebirds breeding and non-breeding plumages are quite different.  We usually see the non-breeding plumage or a transition stage between the two.  The breeding plumage is much darker than the non-breeding plumage.  The Willet in breeding plumage shows dark gray or brown above and white below with heavy streaking on the neck and barring on the breast and sides.  The non-breeding plumage is plain gray above and white below.  The streaking and barring disappear in the non-breeding plumage.  The outstanding field mark of the Willet is seen in flight. It shows a striking black and white wing pattern in both plumages.

Willets Feeding

The Willet gets its name from its vocalizations. It often says its own name, characterized as 'pill will willet'.  It winters along coastal shores from the Carolinas southward to the Caribbean.

There is a western race of this species.  It inhabits the coastline of the western US and winters in western Mexico.  This race is a bit different from the eastern race.  It moves inland to breed on the prairies and areas of Oregon, California and Nevada.  The western race differs anatomically as well.  It is 10% larger, has a longer bill and longer legs.  Its bill is more slender and it is much lighter in colour.  It makes one wonder if it is a different species.  DNA testing would be useful to determine the relationship between the two races.

The good news for bird watchers is that there is a western Willet presently in New Brunswick.  It was seen in the last few days (Oct 9, 2017) in Cormierville and is well documented.  It shows the light gray colour, the longer legs and characteristically is feeding in deep water.

According to IBirdPro, the Willet is the only North American sandpiper whose breeding range extends southward into the tropics.  All other species breed in the north.  An interesting shorebird species!

Colour Me Autumn!

Let's start with the Tulip Tree against a clear October sky

and zoom in on the top of the tree to get the full golden glow

Or an early evening walk past an orchard in shades of spring

yet the leaves in the foreground tell us otherwise

So gorgeous when the golden leaves take on a burnished hue

Maple leaves showing us their transition of the season

Many leaves are falling and we can see next spring's buds against the sky

Three little berries that the birds will soon find

and a Ginkgo biloba turning gold in front of the local school

A glorious show of red Maple leaves

like flames against the blue of the sky

A close-up of some beautiful colours in the park.

Persian Ironwood turn the most marvellous colurs in the autûmn.

Standing on tiptoe to capture these leaves at the top of a bush in the evening sun.

Persian Ironwood again (Parrotia persica)

As soon as I see the start of a sunset, I grab my camera to try and catch

the rapidly changing colours.

The sunsets have been exceptional

and I have often rushed out right after supper to capture them  in nearby streets

where there are less obstacles of buildings.

I have to move fast before they fade away! 

Coming home through the park, I was suddenly dazzled

by this wonderful sun-flare through a gap in the tree trunk.

We have been having an exceptional month of October with temperatures

varying between 18-22C.

I've been collecting seeds from the plants on my balcony garden.

These remind me of little parachutes and are so pretty!

Returning from my early evening walk, I caught the first signs of the pastel sunset¨

in these reflections on a wall behind a young Ginkgo tree.

Pink anemone against a backdrop of autumnal bokeh

Here's my little owl mascot holding up an autumn leaf!

I hope you're all enjoying the wonderful colours of the season wherever you live.

I shall be taking a short blog break as I'm going on holiday at the end of the week.

See you again at the end of this month!

Till then, enjoy the wonderful season!

***

Note:

All photographs have been taken in my immediate neighbourhood.

Who would have thought that there was such beauty on the upper part of town?