[wisb] Bohemian Bonanza! Rhinelander

From: Nancy Richmond <polarpastor@xxxxxxxxx>
To: Wisbirdn <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:50:26 -0600
Hi All -
As most of you have noticed "It's been a quiet winter in the Northwoods, my
home town, out there..." (apologies to Garrison Keillor)
The crabapple trees at the entrance to Nicolet College just outside of
Rhinelander have been loaded with fruit this year and each time I drive
past I pull in, binoculars raised in hope, but alas, nary a Bohemian, nary
a Pine Grosbeak, nary a Chickadee. Until last week when a dozen Cedar
Waxwings alighted. I hardly ever see them in winter so I contented myself
with their thin calls, yellow bellies and jaunty crests for the few minutes
they passed berries among themselves before flying off to parts unknown.

Then.. yesterday afternoon I was driving towards Rhinelander from the SE on
County G and spotted a huge flock of birds - like a ball of Starlings. They
were, of course, over the entrance to Nicolet College. I pulled in to see
crabtrees still loaded with fruit but void of birds. And little evidence
that food had been rapidly processed through avian digestive tracts. But I
could hear them! Aha! The treetops across County G, up Hilltop Rd. were
studded with bird shapes.

I moved closer and could hear both the thin high pitched "see" of the Cedar
and the richer, more trilled notes of Bohemians. Some branches were nearly
dripping with Bohemians showing off their cinnamon undertail coverts and
more ornate wing markings. The birds moved among perching trees, flew to
the crabapples in flocks to feed then back.  The 2 species seemed fairly
well intermixed, though there were distinguishable single species
sub-flocks. I didn't  notice any aggression within or among species.
Waxwings are gregarious birds. Quite a switch from the Pine Siskins at my
feeders who feistily challenge every nearby bird and the squirrels too.

It was a great opportunity to observe Cedars and Bohemians together. When
you can make side by side comparisons there is so much to see and hear -
the obvious and the more subtle.  Judging by the size of the original "bird
ball" that caught my attention, I'd say there were easily 500 birds total.
They were moving around in the trees and the trees moving in the strong
wind too much to get an accurate count, but I did note approximate
proportions of each species. About 2/3 Bohemians and 1/3 Cedars. So 333
Bohemians and 166 Cedars and one Black-capped Chickadee. That's what I'll
tell eBird, at any rate.

I checked the same area this morning - nada. But yesterday was oh, so
satisfying! It will carry me through many a bird scarce day.

Nancy Richmond
Polar - Langlade Co. and
Rhinelander - Oneida Co.


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[wisb] Bohemian Bonanza! Rhinelander

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