[nnasnet] NNAS Monitoring of KCGC/HQ Bluebird Trail, July 11, 2011
- From: "Teeps" <tandpteeps@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "NNASHotline" <nnasnet@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2011 14:40:12 -0400
It is the general belief that none of our native birds deserve
protection more than does the bluebird.
- Frank G. Ashbrook, The Green Book of Birds of America, 1931
KCGC is the King Carter Golf Course, located just south of Kilmarnock off
of Irvington Road. HQ is the Hills Quarter community associated with the
golf course.
Many of you are birders, some more serious than others, of course. So, how
many of you have heard of 'The Picnic Table Effect' in birding? Come on,
lets see a show of hands........hmm, as I thought. The term Picnic Table
Effect was coined about 40 years ago. Most sources say late 60's, one
source says 1971. (Full disclosure: I am not a serious birder, but I read
a lot.) The expression originated at a roadside rest stop near Patagonia,
Arizona. It happened that some birders spotted a rare bird at this rest
stop; a bird that was normally seen only in Mexico. After reporting the
sighting, more expert birders showed up and they spotted even more rare
birds, which brought more experts..........you get the picture. The effect
has been generalized to: the more expert eyes there are, the greater the
number of rare birds spotted. You may be able to spot the Picnic Table
Effect in your neighborhood. Keep watching.
Two more nesting boxes fledged their contents this week and there is a lot
of incubating going on. At one of our locations (formerly, Sparrow Hell),
Mac was feeling in the nest to determine the contents. And while he was
doing this the male BB was dive bombing him. He thought he felt an egg,
but wait, was there a youngster in the nest, also? On closer inspection
the female was on the nest and looking quite irate at our disturbance. But
she never left the nest. As we drove off the male was perched in a nearby
tree, pleased at his successful defense of his mate. This is the start of
a third brood at this location, if the monitors don't screw things up.
Here is a summary of where we stand:
Last week, 47+ eggs; this week, 32+ eggs.
Last week, 38 young; this week, 44 young.
Last week, 10 fledged; this week, 8 fledged.
Total fledged for the season: 143.
There are 76+ eggs/babes in the pipeline.
Stay tuned........Tom
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