Rick wrote:Weeeeell...haven't followed it closely, but my impression's been that the heavy Midwestern rains have mostly missed the Canadian PPR. Could be more drains and plows as usual where it counts most. Should be "interesting" to see how the coming season goes, anyway.
Thing I remember most about when the Mississippi topped/broke(?) her levees mid-country some years back was the number of wood ducks that showed and flew our area in big bunches resembling jacks at a distance.
Rick wrote:Birdwatchers are counting park mallards and likely mis-IDing green-wings in the lower 48.
Rick wrote:Pretty sure that Montana and the Dakotas' contribution, other than blue-wings, isn't much compared to the Canadian PPR's. But at least we should see blue-wings again...
SpinnerMan wrote:Rick wrote:Birdwatchers are counting park mallards and likely mis-IDing green-wings in the lower 48.
This is from the USGS. It should be the best data we have. Granted, there is plenty of uncertainty and big yearly variation and shifts with time. It is just a birding site that makes the USGS data easily available to us.
Rick wrote:SpinnerMan wrote:Rick wrote:Birdwatchers are counting park mallards and likely mis-IDing green-wings in the lower 48.
This is from the USGS. It should be the best data we have. Granted, there is plenty of uncertainty and big yearly variation and shifts with time. It is just a birding site that makes the USGS data easily available to us.
Don't know how that particular info was generated, but I've seen similar distribution maps showing good numbers of woodcock supposedly breeding in South Louisiana which ended up having been generated by an annual bird count birders (likely mistaking king rail for woodcock) participate in. Not all birders are as serious and well educated as the best of them. And that sure seems the likely case in those maps.
There is limited nesting in the extreme southern part of the woodcock’s range, which occurs from January to February.
SpinnerMan wrote:http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/american-woodcock-2.There is limited nesting in the extreme southern part of the woodcock’s range, which occurs from January to February.
Rick wrote:SpinnerMan wrote:http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/american-woodcock-2.There is limited nesting in the extreme southern part of the woodcock’s range, which occurs from January to February.
I'd love to see their evidence of that, as the overwhelming majority of our wintering woodcock come and go with northerly and southerly winds. No time for nesting on that schedule, and I've never even heard of the males' pre-breeding sky-dancing here, much less witnessed it.
Rick wrote: I've never even heard of the males' pre-breeding sky-dancing here, much less witnessed it.
SpinnerMan wrote:Rick wrote:Birdwatchers are counting park mallards and likely mis-IDing green-wings in the lower 48.
This is from the USGS. It should be the best data we have. Granted, there is plenty of uncertainty and big yearly variation and shifts with time. It is just a birding site that makes the USGS data easily available to us.
BBS data are collected by thousands of dedicated participants along thousands of randomly established roadside routes throughout the continent.
Rick wrote:SpinnerMan wrote:Rick wrote:Birdwatchers are counting park mallards and likely mis-IDing green-wings in the lower 48.
This is from the USGS. It should be the best data we have. Granted, there is plenty of uncertainty and big yearly variation and shifts with time. It is just a birding site that makes the USGS data easily available to us.
Got curious enough to check out the birdzilla site and follow it to the Breeding Bird Survey that generated its distribution map, where I found this:BBS data are collected by thousands of dedicated participants along thousands of randomly established roadside routes throughout the continent.
Which sure reads like volunteer birders, though it goes on to say that pros process the data.
(Was nice to see that their most recent count has our summer woodcock down to the "one and below"??? range. The one I'd seen by what certainly seems the same methodology years back was downright bizarre.)
Rick wrote:Didn't say volunteers couldn't be helpful for all sorts of things, just that I take the annual bird counts, shall we say, "with a grain of salt".
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