BIRDS TRAPPED IN THE EYE Hurricane Hunters and Doppler Radar have confirmed that there are birds trapped in the eye because the winds are too strong in the eyewall. As a result, they stay within the calmer eye until reaching land. In this image, the blue colors are birds, the red color is rain. Unfortunately not all birds survive due to exhaustion, starvation or even drowning, but most do...especially depending on the type of bird.
I saw that yesterday too. One of the comments showed where the Hurricane Hunters had noted an egret at over 9,000 feet in the eye.
Yesterday was very cool. Saw two RH wood peckers, several Stellar jays Doug Fir and Gray squirrels at the feeder and suet. We haven't had many smaller birds for a while but it will pick up as the days and nights grow cooler. Two cotton tail rabbits on the lawn outside our breakfast nook sliding door every evening at dinnertime. We call them our dinner guests! Will try for some pictures for official documentation.
Migration Alert: Over 443 million birds are forecast to fly across the East Coast and eastern Midwest tonight. To help birds make their journey safely, turn off all off all nonessential lights from 11 PM to 6 AM to keep them from becoming disoriented. Make windows safer with bird-friendly treatments to prevent collisions. More than a billion birds die in glass collisions every year.
For morning coffee time viewing we are watching our pet ruffed grouse, juncos and chickadees, along with with some red squirrels and chipmunks. We had a strong surge of Juncos with this last cold front. No snow buntings yet. They are late this year.
