Got there about 5:15 again, and the single birds started leaving about 5:25
like last time (everything seems to be about light levels with them). Even
before I arrived they were noisy, and the usual morning splats and wafting
down feathers were abundant. Moving to the outer twigs and scuffling about
position took up time. At 5:51, I saw a peregrine on the (Monroe?) building
and at 5:52 there was the expected sound modulation (you have to come down
there to learn what that sounds like-think turning down the volume knob
very quickly) when the peregrine disappeared. At 5:54 the first small wave
of birds departed, in the opposite direction from the peregrine's favorite
perch just like last time. At 5:56 there was another sound modulation, but
I could not see a peregrine from my side of the trees. By 5:58, there was a
steady stream of birds heading to all points east. Maybe they felt the
threat was over from the peregrines, but then at 6:02 the red-tailed hawk
flew in, quickly snagged a meal, and the trees mostly emptied in roughly a
minute (compared to a half hour on 7/27). At 6:06 the RTHA flew off with
its meal and clucked sort of like a chicken as it flew. After that, a
fairly small bunch of totally silent stragglers flew in small numbers to all
points of the compass. It has been very interesting to watch how they deal
with the various threats they encounter. At that point I headed home to
figure out why the hot water heater was on the fritz (sigh). Have a great
day!
Jan
Richmond
