I wish crow was yummier, but as with this serving, it's always a little
distasteful ... but always worth swallowing for experience sake.
So after using last weekend's BBC Cave Hill Cemetery field trip's eBird list
that included 3 Swainson's Thrushes and no Hermit Thrushes as an example of
questionable looking bird data, field trip participants produced a photo of a
Swainson's Thrush! I did note that multiple Hermit Thrushes *were* reported in
the cemetery by another observer in the afternoon, and I guess there seems to
be a little uncertainty as to whether or not all three thrushes seen on the
trip were definitely Swainson's, but presence of the later-arriving Swainson's
duly noted and a proportional serving of crow choked down.
Actually, the presence of a Swainson's was not that surprising to me, just the
fact that three could be detected without detecting any Hermits, which by far
outnumber the former until the last week of April every year.
I also referenced some sources for checking on when different species typically
arrive. I failed to mention Robert Mengel's Birds of Kentucky (1965 ... still
available from Buteo Books among others), which is still also a generally
reliable source for such info some 50 years later! Here's what Mengel says
about the two ...
Hermit Thrush ... "Early records may not indicate dates of arrival of birds
from farther south, since small to moderate numbers winter. The main migratory
flight passes in late March and April, about a month earlier than the
Swainson's Thrushes, Gray-cheeks, and Veeries; rare by early May."
Swainson's Thrush ... "The species may be fairly common by late April; peak in
first half of May." He lists several early dates including 14 April 1906 (with
an average first arrival of 24 April for that source); 14 April 1953; and 17
April [no year].
These descriptions remain entirely accurate to today.
So ... apologies to the BBC trip leaders and participants, especially for
putting that example of early birds out there before receiving a reply
concerning supporting evidence of the report.
bpb, Louisville
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