Late in the day I went to Bryan Park for exercise mainly, which was good
because it was very quiet. Just the usual suspects minus the owls, but I
saw a totally hilarious chase-a hummingbird was fast and furious on the tail
of a belted kingfisher and did not let up on it as it flew out of sight. It
even appeared to be hitting it occasionally!
Went down to the Bottom just barely in time-the first "in-and-out" pass was
at 7:49, and the red tail showed up a couple of minutes later. With it
there (it has missed a few nights lately) the birds were entering from too
many directions to estimate their numbers, but a rough guess from previous
visits would be 6 to 8 thousand birds aloft, plus there were many stragglers
up until about 8:02. The numbers seem to be fluctuating up and down after
staying fairly high for awhile, but they will most likely be around for
awhile longer if someone has been thinking of coming to see them. Just
remember that they are landing earlier as the days get shorter. Arriving
between 7 and 7:30 would be good if you want to watch the flock build up and
see some of their behaviors.
Jan
Richmond
