Once upon a time the accepted wisdom was that Snowy Owls came far south in
big numbers when the lemming population crashed. i believe a more intelligent
interpretation has become popular today: A boom in lemming numbers means very
high reproductive success, hence a huge surplus of young birds, many of which
travel beyond the range of their parents. When the reports of Mountain
Chickadee began stacking up I imagined a similar scenario. An early, warm
spring meant extra food for nestlings, and a chance to rear two or three
clutches in species that might otherwise raise one or two.
I know that rainfall for the calendar year is well below normal, but
there were significant thunder showers throughout the interior this summer and
many areas are much greener than they would be in October. I seriously doubt
these chickadees and nuthatches are refugees. Lars
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