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.
Looked out the other day and saw a couple of snowbirds on the ground below the feeder. Haven't seen them since spring. Also spotted a small sparrow (not sure of species) which must've returned too.
First time I've heard of the trick. Im familiar with how dark colors absorb light and warm up. Ill use the gravel from our driveway as ice melt and safe step. Our birdbaths get very little sunlight. Fortunately for the wildlife the river close to our house never freezes over.
I have heard of it, but it really doesn't work well when winter really hits around here. My mom, who lives in KS uses a black bird bath with a brick in it for her birds. She also has a yard that gets sun most of the day. Like Buzzsaw Brad, mine isn't really in sun, so even on milder days, it wouldn't benefit much in the deep of winter. And in fall, I don't keep water in the birdbaths since they just fill with leaves anyway. And, like Brad, I am 4 blocks from the river, so don't worry about it much anyway - although during drought I do try to keep them clean and filled.
The last week or two the feeder had been emptying a lot faster. Have to refill in less than two days with seed. During the Summer it lasted almost a week it seems. Has anyone else noticed this?
