>
> If you want to see something impressive, start watching Doppler Radar
> reports from the Cuba-Florida-Georgia region starting in early April
> through
> early May, and see hundreds of millions of songbirds lift off as darkness
We are on a migratory flight path (Midland MI). During a similar time, but
in daylight it's quite common to receive traffic advisories from ATC of
primary echos on some heading, altitude unknown. These are often large
flocks of migratory game birds. Some of those flocks will go above 10,000
feet. Driving from Midland to Bay City this past Fall we counted well over
50 very large flocks of geese and swans overhead and that's just a 19 mile
trip.
> falls each evening and head north. On one hand, it's a pretty stunning
> radar
> report; on the other hand, it shows us how finite songbird populations
> are.
To me it shows how tremendous those populations must be and far greater than
we ever realized.
To sustain that kind of mortality and still show up as a normal population
at their destination means some very large numbers. No wonder we go
through over half a ton of bird feed a year. Bout 200 to 300# of thistle
seed, and nearly a thousand # of Sunflower seeds. I guess there's about
another couple hundred pounds of Saflower? seeds in there too. The only ones
we don't see in large numbers are Humming Brds. The viscious little buggers
are very territorial. Pretty, but viscious.
So far only the Cormorants are the only thing of any size to perch on the
antennas. I've had a boat load of ice on them that didn't cause that much
deflection. The little ones don't seem to create a problem.
Roger Halstead (K8RI and ARRL 40 year Life Member)
N833R - World's oldest Debonair CD-2
www.rogerhalstead.com
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