The Nesting Season June 1-July 31, 1973
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The NestingSeason June l-Juty 31, 1973 unknown... [Some species]south of customary habi- HUDSON-ST. LAWRENCE REGION tations were Sharp-shinned Hawk, Downy Wood- / P. A. Buckley and T. H. Davis pecker, Red-breastedNuthatch, Solitary Vireo, Nash- ville, N. Parula, Magnolia, and Yellow-rumped War- blers. Wanderers to the north included Great Crested June and July are the months of peak breeding activ- Flycatcher, Scarlet Tanager and Indigo Bunting" ity in our region(which seemsto extendasymptotically MM, reporting for our portion of the Province of off towards or beyond the North Pole) and climatic Qu6bec, notes "the following speciesas being particu- extremes at this time might have detrimental effects larly abundant: E. Kingbird, Purple Martin, House perceptiblefor severalyears. In New York City, com- Wren, E. Bluebird, Bobolink, N. Oriole, Rose- peratures averages +2 ø F and +0.5ø; precipitation, breasted Grosbeak, and Indigo Bunting." WJN found largely in the form of severe thunderstormsdumping in s.w. Vermont. that "the breeding seasonwas much record amountsof water per unit time, was 4.55 in. in prolonged and singing lasted longer than usual June (normal 3.31 in.) and 5.89 in. in July (normal 3.70 Three northern breeding species which have been in ). Consequentlylocal freshwater levels were very breeding here [Winhall/Bennington area] have shown high. No tropical storms, alas, came anywhere near us. declines and are either absent or greatly reduced this Wind direction was generally normal for both months year: Swainson's Thrush (reduced), Yellow-bellied (SW), but the 6.6 mph velocitiesfor both Juneand July Flycatcher(reduced) and Rusty Blackbird(absent) On were slightly lower than the normal 8.2 and 7.7 mph the positive side, Chimney Swift, after several poor values. Sunlight is normally presentca. 65 per cent of years, has come back very well, and Indigo Bunting is daylight hours in both months, so June's 48 per cent spreading into many new high elevation locations was a seriousdrop; July's reading was normal. At least around here, another new development; formerly [the one observer(JG) calledattention to the overcastskies' species]was pretty well confinedto the valleys." From effects on reducedfishing successof breedingCommon Jenny Lake in the Adirondacks, RPY noted that other Terns at Jones Beach with concomitantly heavy losses than the winter finches, there appearedto be no "dras- of young from starvation. Seawater temperatures at tic changes" in bird populations there. Ambrose Light Tower in Lower New York Bay gradu- Coastally, particular attention was paid this summer ally increasedin essentiallylinear fashionfrom 61ø June to accurate censusingof almost all known major heron- 1 to 73ø July 31, but we do not know how these compare ries, gulleries and terneries (see Tables 2, 3 and 4), to normal values. They did increase to record levels in revealing some very high but still quite conservative late August and early September, which we will discuss numbers of breeders. Extensive work by Urner Or- in the next issue. nithological Club members continued on the breeding Elsewhere in our region, RPY describedthe Jenny birds of extreme n.w.N.J., where such disparateas- Lake area of the Adirondacks as having been "warm sociates as Acadian Flycatcher and White-throated ßlacking in rainfall"; New Hampshirewas generally Sparrow nest together; the New Hampshire Audubon very wet, although no temperature extremes were Society'sannual breeding bird censusesare quantifying commentedupon (VH); in BerkshireCo., Mass. "June some changes in that state. and July were both very warm and July a lot drier than Attention continues to be focused on offshore obser- usual, but flash floods came in late June-early July" vations of pelagicsfrom Long Island and New Jersey, (RJG); Queb6chad "a fine dry summer... conducive revealing some quite unexpected (but regular 9) to highbreeding success" (MM); but in s.w. Vermont, species. Table 1 compares trips, which continued WJN stressed a very wet May and June that "culmi- throughoutthe summerand fall. Any observersmaking nated in the disastrousflood periodsof June 30-July 5, pelagic observations off the New Jersey shore are which battered this area very badly and causedgreat asked to send copies of their results, including detailed nesting mortality. [For example,] Bobolinks breeding descriptionsfor all rare or difficult to identify species, in fields... here disappearedafter the June 30 floods to---in addition to the respective,4m. Birds regional and were not seen again." editors--Dr. Charles Leck, Dept. of Zoology, Univer- Aside from specificcases mentioned later in the main sity Heights Campus, RutgersUniv., New Brunswick, account, some conclusionsof various regional coor- N.J. 08903, who has undertaken a year-round study of dinatorsare in order. VH reportsfor the entire state of seabirds in the New York Bight. New Hampshire: "Sad items were the still-continuing The second annual Captree "June Christmas Bird drasticdecline of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,American Count" (see,4m. Birds, 27:556-570)on June2 managed Bittern, Warbling Vireo, Bank, Rough-winged and to field some50 observerswho recordedca. 172species Cliff Swallows,Com. Nighthawk, Brown Creeperand in the regular 15-mile diameter Captree C B C circle, Vesper Sparrow . Good items were the spread of appreciably up from last year's 135 species by 14 ob- Turkey Vulture, Goshawk and Com. Raven. Black- servers.Late migrants(23 speciesof warblers), out-of- billed Cuckoos made a good recovery [after 1972] or seasonlingerers (an unidentifiedmurre and an Evening more likely moved with the worm infestations. Red Grosbeak), as well as potential new area breeders Crossbills and Pine Siskins raised young, at least in (Acadian Flycatcher, SummerTanager, Prothonotary some instances, and moved north June 8-9 for parts Warbler) and unexpectedly high counts (Brown Volume 27, Number 5 845 Creeper. Veery, Pine Warbler, Am. Oystercatcher, from the Statenlsland ferry in Upper New York Bay herons/ibises),were all dividendsof the sort predicted Associated with the vast numbers of Wilson's was an by Tudor and Robben when they suggestedthe con- odd storm-petrelwith a white belly and white patches cept Results will be publishedin the Linnaean News dorsally.It was similarto one seenby the Eds. at Cox's Letter, if not also in Am. Birds, later this year. Ledge (off Montauk Pt.) Aug. 19, 1972, and to one Rarities reported in June and July included Black- reported by the Trimbles on the Grand BanksSept 6, browed Albatrosses, Brown Boobies, Leach's Storm- 1966(Auk, 85:130):each was carefully determinedto be petrels, Black Vulture, Purple Gallinule, numerousin- merely an aberrant Wilson's, not one of the more exotic land shorebirds,all three phalaropes, Little Gulls, black and white storm-petrelsfrom Antarctic waters Franklin's Gulls, Skua, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Observersare cautioned that such plumage aberrancles breeding Blue Grosbeak, and numerous records of are not unknown in several tubenoses. other "southern" landbirtfsundergoing presumptive Concerning rarities, two Brown Boobieswere seen range expansions: Acadian Flycatcher, Blue-gray this summer in addition to that in Table 1: an adult was Gnatcatcher, Prothonotary and Kentucky Warblers close to shore, flying and sitting in the water, at and Summer Tanager. Gardiner'sI., L.I. June2 (DP), the day beforeShields' A reminder of the two Regional telephone numbers New Jersey observation; and an adult was seen in the giving tape-recorded information about local birds of Hudson Canyonarea June 27 (RR). There are only four note: New York City: 212/832-6523; Springfield, previousNew York City area records, and none were Mass.: 413/566-3590. from New Jersey." And in addition to the Black-browed Albatrosseslisted in Table 4 (incidentally, the first for the Region, and following last year's first North LOONS, TUBENOSES, BOOBIES--Loons of American reportsfrom the Northeastern Maritime Re- both speciesare occasionalin summer south of their gion), an unidentified albatross was clearly seen, well normalinland breeding range, but a reportof a pair of described, and carefully sketched by a veteran ob- adultand a "half-grownyoung" [capableof sustained server (ED) May 21 as it flew alongsidethe Belt Park- fllght?--Eds.] Commonson the lower Carman'sR., on way at GravesendBay, Brooklyn, and then crossedthe the southshore of Long Island from July 10 - 15 are road, headingfor downtownBrooklyn ! The description suggestiveof breeding (DP). If so, it would be un- anddrawing suggest Black-browed more than any other precedentedfor Long Island. Pied-billed Grebes seem species,which accordswell with other (!) albatross to be declining in many areas (Berkshires;N.H.; records from the area this summer. The late May count OnondagaCo., N.Y.), althoughthey nestedsuccess- of Leach'sStorm-Petrels from the Canyon is the highest fully on Long Island, where rare breeders, at ever for the Region, and one of the few recent, non- Poxabogue Pond in Bridgehampton (CKMcK) and hurricane reports. Are they regular there? probablystill at JamaicaBay Wildlife Refuge,(hereaf- ter J B.W.R.). They do not seem to be nesting any- WADING BIRDS, WATERFOWL--Heronrles where on the extensive Hackensack, N.J. meadows, on Long Islandwere at peak numbersand the figureof which might be owing to that area's increasingsalinity 500+ pairs of Glossy Ibis is consideredconservative, (RK). perhaps under-estimatedby a factor of two (PAB, While some of the seabird countsand speciesre-