THE HURRICANE land than centralMississippi. Two seasonof I99Z in- LaughingGulls in Tennesseewere ap- cludedthree major parentlystorm waifs, and a Whim- storms that won THECHANGING brel was knockeddown in upstate prominentmention New York with the remnants of An- in thesepages. Bird- drew.Conspicuously lacking from ers sometimes re- the falloutwere any tubenoses, such gard hurricanesas asstorm-petrels or Pterodroma petrels cause for celebra- SEASONSIn Hawaii, scoreda uon, becauseof the direct hit on the island of Kauai. Vet- rare seabirds that eranweatherman and ornithologist oftenturn up after- Autumn 99z BobPyle describes its effects in detail, ward, but there was andhis essayis requiredreading for littlecelebrating this ByKenn Kaufman anyoneinterested in bird conserva- season. Of the Pro- tion.After you finish that, turn to the cellariiformes, the Florida column and read what Noel truedeep-water pela- Warnerand Richard West have to say glcs,the only out- aboutthe consequencesof Andrew standing records In both cases,bird populationsare were in and sureto beseriously affected (with ex- New , courtesyof tropical battlethe strongestwinds, and it is tinctionpossible for someHawaiian storm Lester. Hurricane Iniki blasted perhapsfortunate that mosthurri- species).And in bothcases, the im- Hawaii, with effectsthat were entire- canesin its rangedissipate at sea pactsof thestorms on thesevulnera- ly negative., one of ratherthan turning inland. blebirds are magnified because of pri- the mostpowerful ever to strikethe orhuman damage to local ecosystems UnitedStates, caused literally billions Andrew and Iniki of dollars'worth of humanproperty HurricaneAndrew was that prover- Impressionsof the migration damagein Floridaand Louisiana, be- bialimprobability, an ill windthat re- RegionalEditors almost always hear camean item in election-yearpoli- allydidn't blow much good for any- conflictingcomments about the "qual- tics,and caused inestimable damage one. Bird recordsgenerated by the ity" of a migrationseason. Ground- ro natural habitats. stormwere remarkably few. After the basedimpressions formost land birds hurricane steamrollered across south- arecontradictory from the start:the Lester and Least ern Florida,the only associatedbird weatherthat brings us a "good"fall- In lateAugust, hurricane Lester caused records were of a few Bridled Terns outof migrantsis actually bad for the major damagein westernMexico. onshore;Florida birders were preoc- birds,while excellentflying condi- But bythe time it crossedthe border, cupiedwith thingslike stayingalive tions will cause us to witness a "bad anglingnorth and east across Arizona andwatching the destruction of their migration."Impressions will vary and , the storm was re- homes. markedlyfrom placeto place,de- ducedto locallyheavy winds and Veeringacross the Gulf, Andrew pendingon local weather. rain. Some of us checked the local cameashore again in Louisiana,curv- This season there were the usual ponds,but there were no signs of dis- ing northeastacross Mississippi, Al- kindsof contradictions.Mourning placedbirds--until word came in of abama,and Tennessee,diminishing Warbler was specifically mentioned as singleLeast Storm-Petrels in south- and playingitself out northward. scarcein New England,but in good ern Arizona and southwestern New Again,relatively few birdscould be numbers on the Middle Atlantic Mexico. The latter bird was found in attributed to the storm. Astute scien- Coastand at Chicago.Wilson's War- moribund condition on the streetsof tist-birderVan Remsen put himself in blerwas up in Chicago,down in New SilverCity, hundredsof milesfrom positionto intercepta Long-tailed Englandand at Cleveland.We have the coast.We canonly wonder how Jaeger,a BridledTern, and other goodevidence that some neotropical manyothers might have been lost in notables inland in Louisiana, but migrantsare declining, but it remains the vastnessof the surroundingdry most observers did not do so well. importantto makeour counts species country.Least Storm-Petrel was also The fallout from the storm included byspecies and site by site. the main transporteeof hurricane numbersof frigatebirds,terns, Brown Many regions,from the northern Kathleenfifteen yearsearlier. This Pelicans, Black Skimmers, and plainsto theAtlantic, agreed that fall tinytubenose may be ill-equipped to LaughingGulls, most no fartherin- migrationwas affected by the cold,

Volume 47, Number 1 51 wetbreeding season there and farther northof thecurrent breeding range Someof my Loms•ana friends are true north.Some species had demonstra- in , Arizona, and New maniacs(and I meanthat as a comph- blypoor breeding success, such as the Mexico. got its first,with ment);they haveevery imaginable GreaterSnow Geese censused in Que- six birds at three locations. The Texas hummingbirdflower in theiryards, bec.Among northern forest birds, populationis now entrenched all the andthey are not jokingwhen they nestingfailure early in the season way northto Amarillo,and up to talkabout painting their houses red couldhave altered fall migrationin ninespent the fall arounda feederin to catchthe of apassing hummer. variousways. Failed breeders that did western Kansas. One in Directed effort does make a differ- notattempt renesting may have moved was an outlandish extension of the ence.The CentralSouthern Region southeven earlier than usual (perhaps pattern...butnot the northernmost talliedso hummingbird species th•s reflected in the Hudson-Delaware re- of the season. fall! Most bizarre of the bunch was gion). Birdsthat did renestmight When I heard that Canadds first Louisiana's first Blue-throated Hum- havemigrated south later than usual IncaDove had appeared in Ontario,I mingbird,but that state's second and (apossibility mentioned in Ontario). thoughtof extremesouthern On- third Broad-billeds were not far be- Any of thesephenomena on the tario, someplacelike Point Pelee. hind.Other Gulf states are getting •n- breedinggrounds could have altered Wrong:It washundreds of milesfar- to the act,as evidenced by firstMis- ourimpressions of the migration. thernorth, in theboreal forest region sissippirecords of Allen'sand Cal- ofAtikokan.I doubtthe species will liopehummingbirds, and Alabama's Waitingfor doveseason establisha beachheadat Atikokan, first Anna's Hummingbird.Else- When the Pilgrimslanded, a high but nestingin Kansasand Colorado whereeast of the plains,Wisconsin proportionof all the land birdson seemsentirely possible. had its second Anna's, and Rufous thiscontinent belonged to thefamily Rangeexpansion by the White- Hummingbirdsare being document- Columbidae.The sameis true today. wingedDove continues, with record ed more carefully(i.e., rulingout While thismight seem like no net numbersnorth to Waco, Texas,and Allen's)everywhere. Eastern birders change,the situationhas changed northerlyrecords in New Mexico. arelearning not to takeanything for radically.The PassengerPigeon, once Fallstrays, like the second for Quebec grantedabout hummingbirds in fall numberingat leastin thehundreds of and tenth for Nova Scotia this fall, millions,is extinct; and other pigeons willprobably continue to increase. Invadersand strays anddoves, with increasing ranges and Eurasian Collared-Dove is still Canyou really talk abouta bird"•n- populations,seem destined to fill in spreadingin Florida.Orlando's first vasion"when only a few individuals thecolumbid gap. nestwas documented in August.Up areinvolved? I believe sometimes you Recently,the northwardstraying Florida'swest coast in TaylorCounty, can. Consider this fall's movement of of RuddyGround-Doves in autumn growingnumbers had the locals look- Groove-billedAnis. They apparently hasbecome an expectedevent. This ingforward to dovehunting season. had a greatnesting season in Texas season,Arizona counted at least17. Up to zo in Montgomerywere the andpoints south; during the fall, they Nevada had its third record. Southern first for inland Alabama. Given the wandered.Only onewas found as far Californiahad at least•4, including recent success of the collared-dove north as Kansas,but theywere all tentogether at FurnaceCreek Ranch. throughoutEurope, there seems no acrossthe southernstates, from Cah- (Texasreported none, strengthening obvious reason why this exotic should fornia to Florida. California had the impressionthat theseinvasions not eventually occupy much of North foundonly four anis in all ofhistor• comemainly from westernMexico.) America--addingto the naturalin- so four more this fall indicated a real It seemsonly a matterof timebefore vaders,burgeoning Mourning Doves, invasion. RuddyGround-Doves begin nesting andcity Rock Doves, paltry chaff fill- But if four birds can make an inva- •n the . ing in thegap left by thedisappear- sion, how many low-densityinva- Thispattern of expansionwas pio- anceof thegreat Passenger Pigeon. sions occurred last fall? Black-throat- neeredby the Inca Dove, once proba- ed Sparrowsaround the GreatLakes? blyabsent altogether from the region Fromthe hummingbirdcapital Black-throatedGray Warblers in the that is now the United States. In its What is thehummingbird capital of Maritimes?Read on, and find your northwardspread, the first scouts in a North America? Various Arizona ownexamples. 'y* newarea usually appeared in fall,of- canyonswant that title; but in terms ten remained to winter, then nested of sheerhuman effort, it would have •n subsequentsummers. The Inca to be Louisiana.An extraordinary Dovecontinues to spreadin thesame amountof workgoes into attracting fashion. This season, several were hummers there in fall and winter.

52 AmericanB•rds, Spring 1993