State wildlife officials and the Mass Audubon bird conservation group are advising residents to bring in their bird feeders and birdbaths until more is known about a mysterious avian ailment.
If there is a more widely recognizable on the Vineyard than the American robin, we’ve yet to hear of it. The combination of a gray back and an orange breast and belly on a robin is obvious and known to all. Sheer numbers help boost our familiarity with robins: this species is a very common nesting bird on the Island, and contrary to the cliché of the first robin of spring, robins are present and often numerous throughout all but the most brutal winter weather.
Fortunately, we do not often get a chance to talk about how birds are affected by a major snowstorm. But 15 inches of heavy wet snow has provided that opportunity.
Birds can detect the air pressure changes that accompany an approaching storm, giving them time to prepare for adversity.
The Christmas Bird Count is behind us and there have been many interesting birds seen since. So let’s catch up with several of the attention-grabbing sightings. Dovekies have again caught people’s attention whether they are birders or not. In the recent easterly gales a number of these little alcids, which are about half the size of a football and weigh practically nothing, were blown onto the Island. Peter Huntington spotted a dovekie flying over Crab Creek at Quansoo on Jan.
A group of Vineyard birders and biologists were saddened to hear that David (aka Pops) Masch had died. Many folks had met Dave while he was the naturalist, chief cook, father figure/counselor and instructor for the Penikese Island School. Dave was at Penikese for 29 years, and before that he was a biologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Dave was an excellent fisherman/shell fisherman and a superb cook.
Red knots are a not something you tie, but a type of shorebird that is causing quite a stir in the birding world. A bit of history: the red knot’s Latin name is Calidris canutus, a moniker which was given this sandpiper by Linnaeus to honor the Danish king, Canute or Knut. King Knut was well-known for trying to hold back the tides. This makes perfect sense; if I were a sandpiper depending on horseshoe crab eggs or clams, I would want the tide to stay low so I could feed.
Three southern species which are now seen on the Vineyard are making news this week. As our climate changes and warms, these southern birds are moving north to spend the summers and some to breed. The southern birds of interest to Bird News this week include black skimmers, Wilson’s plover, chuck-wills-widow and great egrets.
