Weekly Bird Report

A number of summers ago a mockingbird in Oak Bluffs did something new. A man that loved large parrots had obtained a new bird, a Green and Yellow Macaw. This particular macaw used to live with a family with an infant and had quite a vocabulary. It loved to say “Hello.”

The bird's caretaker had the bird outside on a perch while doing things and the bird was constantly saying “Hello.” Hour after hour, the bird was talking, and that was the word constantly repeated. He brought the bird in at night to the safety of his house.

Baby birds require from their parents near-constant feeding. But cleaning up after them isn't so hard. Most land birds have developed a technique for ridding waste that make diapers look antiquated. Bird nestlings magically dispose of their excrement in little fecal sacks. The waste is packaged in a little white balloon for disposal, which the adults efficiently remove.

Area birdwatchers went into the Memorial Day weekend with high hopes, as it is historically a great weekend for birding. But the weather did not cooperate, with strong northwest winds, soaking rains, fog, and chilly temperatures. Nonetheless, some fine sightings were made, including:

• 2 Mississippi Kites
• Worm-eating Warbler
• Chuck-will's-widow

Also of note is the seasonal return of Sooty Shearwaters.

Audio of the Weekly Bird Report is posted above.

Many years, Memorial Day weekend is the best of the year for birding. Historically, it is the hands-down winner for providing the most exciting birding of the spring migration, as both vagrants and visitors alike appear during this long weekend.

This past week brought widespread reports of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Scarlet Tanagers and Baltimore Orioles. On the Bird Report, Vern Laux celebrates an exciting time of year for birders, as migrant birds pass by and summer resident species return for another breeding season. The majority of land birds migrate at night - a mysterious and largely unseen phenomenon!

Spring bird migration is at its peak.  On the Weekly Bird Report, Nantucket ornithologist Vern Laux says that singing Carolina wrens, pine warblers, and ospreys can be seen throughout the Cape and Islands.

Ospreys, Red-tailed Hawks, Cooper’s Hawks and Northern Harriers are hard to miss across the Cape and Islands this time of year. On the Weekly Bird Report, Vern Laux remarks on these diurnal raptors. Silent for most of the year, at this season raptors engage in noisy courtship displays and make plenty of interesting sounds.

Audio posted above.