Birdies

2011-05-23 15:25:15.000 – Steve Welsh,  IT Observer

Nightime Visitor

Early this morning our ever vigilant night observer noticed a couple of feathered guests resting on the window ledge outside our main office. Fortunately he managed to snap a few photographs which, I believe, show that one was a Magnolia Warbler and the other a Blackpoll Warbler here’s another. I’m guessing they were migrating north on the southerly winds present at the time and seeing the lights through the fog probably became disorientated and decided to stop by for a while. I wonder how many other birds were heading north last night?

Over the past four years I’ve seen relatively few birds at the summit or in the immediate vicinity of it. We do see Ravens year round and in the summer there are numerous Dark-eyed Juncos and American Pipits both of which nest up here. In the fall we often see flocks of Snow Buntings and other more unusual birds including Northern Flicker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Turkey Vulture, Blue Jays, Black-capped Chickadees and assorted other LBJs (‘Little Brown Jobs’ a term we used in the UK to mean a small unidentified nondescript type of bird). My favorite sighting so far though was way back in November of 2008 when a Snowy Owl was flying around Cow Pasture. I wonder what will turn up next?

Steve Welsh,  IT Observer