Re: [nfc-l] mystery flight call - S Louisiana

2010-04-06 Thread Michael O'Brien
Erik, 


This sounds like a Common Moorhen. They do a variety of muffled clucks like 
that. 


best, 
Michael O'Brien 



- Original Message - 
From: "Erik Johnson"  
To: "Nocturnal Flight Call ListServe"  
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 11:52:26 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: [nfc-l] mystery flight call - S Louisiana 

Hi everyone, 

I was messing around with a Sennheiser mic directly plugged into my 
laptop April 4. Recordings were obviously soft without the help of a 
preamp, but discernible. I was mostly just trying to test my ear 
against the instant gratification of inspecting the sonogram and 
comparing to the flight call CD. I recorded this and cannot figure it 
out. Any thoughts would be appreciated. It was recorded 1.5 hrs 
after sundown near Lafayette, LA. 

File is 256kb, wav format. Let me know if the link doesn't work. 
https://filestogeaux.lsu.edu/public/download.php?FILE=ejohn33/26855CDCduk 

Thanks, 
Erik Johnson 
S Lafayette, LA 
ejohn33 AT lsu.edu 

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Re: [nfc-l] Willow Flycatcher, Cuckoo, or similar nfc's in Delaware

2010-04-06 Thread Michael O'Brien
Andrew, 


The first call is a Virginia Rail. Check out Lang Elliott's Stokes Eastern 
Birds CD for I nice example of this call, which is apparently given by females. 
I can't quite make out the second call on your recording, but it doesn't sound 
like a cuckoo to me. 


best, 
Michael O'Brien 



- Original Message - 
From: "Andrew Albright"  
To: "nfc-l" , edni...@verizon.net 
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 10:33:58 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re:[nfc-l] Willow Flycatcher, Cuckoo, or similar nfc's in Delaware 

http://soundcloud.com/user3781125/4apr10-lewes 

The first one is the one that I thought sounded Willow Flycatcher=ish. 

Also, not sure about the second one - kind of sounds like a Cuckoo - 
but that would also be pretty early. 

Any better ID's? 

Sincerely, 
Andrew 

On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 1:03 AM, Andrew Albright 
 wrote: 
> Saturday night, I recorded something that sounded like a "fast" Willow 
> Flycatcher's "fitzspew" call. In addition to not sounding exactly 
> like it, it is a little early for Willow in Southern Delaware. 
> Location - southern Delaware ~2am. 
> 
> However, I checked Evans/Obrien's guide and they give something 
> different for Willow for NFC. 
> 
> 1. Anyone ever record Willow? 
> 2. What are the closest other choices for me to check? 
> 
> Sincerely, 
> Andrew 
> 

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[nfc-l] mystery flight call - S Louisiana

2010-04-06 Thread Erik Johnson
Hi everyone,

I was messing around with a Sennheiser mic directly plugged into my
laptop April 4.  Recordings were obviously soft without the help of a
preamp, but discernible.  I was mostly just trying to test my ear
against the instant gratification of inspecting the sonogram and
comparing to the flight call CD.  I recorded this and cannot figure it
out.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.  It was recorded 1.5 hrs
after sundown near Lafayette, LA.

File is 256kb, wav format.  Let me know if the link doesn't work.
https://filestogeaux.lsu.edu/public/download.php?FILE=ejohn33/26855CDCduk

Thanks,
Erik Johnson
S Lafayette, LA
ejohn33 AT lsu.edu

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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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Re:[nfc-l] Willow Flycatcher, Cuckoo, or similar nfc's in Delaware

2010-04-06 Thread Andrew Albright
http://soundcloud.com/user3781125/4apr10-lewes

The first one is the one that I thought sounded Willow Flycatcher=ish.

Also, not sure about the second one - kind of sounds like a Cuckoo -
but that would also be pretty early.

Any better ID's?

Sincerely,
Andrew

On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 1:03 AM, Andrew Albright
 wrote:
> Saturday night, I recorded something that sounded like a "fast" Willow
> Flycatcher's "fitzspew" call.  In addition to not sounding exactly
> like it, it is a little early for Willow in Southern Delaware.
> Location - southern Delaware ~2am.
>
> However, I checked Evans/Obrien's guide and they give something
> different for Willow for NFC.
>
> 1. Anyone ever record Willow?
> 2. What are the closest other choices for me to check?
>
> Sincerely,
> Andrew
>

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Re: [nfc-l] blue icicle

2010-04-06 Thread Michael Lanzone
Hi all,

I got a lot of questions about the Blue Icicle. Sorry I should have
explained what it was! It is a mic preamp that is powered via the USB
voltage (5v). It is nice as when mounted close to the microphone it reduced
the noise in the line caused by a long run of an unbalanced XLR or other mic
cable. The evans style mic works great, but it is also unbalanced, for a lot
of my setups I have no issues at all, however there are some that are near
radio stations or simply get the hum in the line. By using this mic preamp
and running a 25ft USB cable from the icicle (housed in a waterproof housing
in the bucket) to the computer It completely eliminates the noise. The only
downside to this mic is you need to adjust the gain before you put up the
bucket as it is on the icicle. I simply adjust it about 3/4 of the way up
and then adjust the volume on the computers mic input to fine tune. I also
use this mic now in autonomous recording units, and it has worked well.
Here is a link to the Blue Icicle-
http://www.buy.com/prod/icicle-xlr-to-usb-converter/q/listingid/52757425/loc/101/208972092.html

Best,
Mike

Michael Lanzone
Biotechnology and Biomonitoring Lab Supervisor
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Powdermill Avian Research Center
1847 Route 381
Rector, PA 15677
724.593.5521 Office
mlanz...@gmail.com


On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 6:25 PM, leste...@fuse.net  wrote:

> what is blue icicle?
>
> --
> Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone
>
> --
>
> NFC-L List Info:
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>
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> 2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html
> 3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L
>
> Please submit your observations to eBird:
> http://ebird.org/content/ebird/
>
> --
>
>

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[nfc-l] blue icicle

2010-04-06 Thread leste...@fuse.net
what is blue icicle?

--
Sent from my Verizon Wireless mobile phone

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Re: [nfc-l] mic setup

2010-04-06 Thread Michael Lanzone
David,

I also use the MP-13 on many of my setups, but like I had talked to you
about, with the blue icicle you can elimanate a lot of the noise associated
with the traditional EK3029c setup by placing in near the microphone. The
Evans style mics are not balanced and unless they are built special it is
hard to do. For the engineers out there on this list ;) what we really need
is a circuit like bills original one that is balanced AND powered by +48v
phantom power!


Michael Lanzone
Biotechnology and Biomonitoring Lab Supervisor
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Powdermill Avian Research Center
1847 Route 381
Rector, PA 15677
724.593.5521 Office
mlanz...@gmail.com


On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 4:38 PM, Jeff Wells  wrote:

>  I have always used the Rolls MP13 and have found it very reliable and
> durable.
>
>
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
> *From:* bounce-5534450-9874...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:
> bounce-5534450-9874...@list.cornell.edu] *On Behalf Of *David La Puma
> *Sent:* Tuesday, April 06, 2010 4:32 PM
> *To:* nfc-l@cornell.edu
> *Subject:* [nfc-l] mic setup
>
>
>
> Hey All-
>
> A group of us in Cape May are going to be building some personal recording
> setups in the next week(s). I'm interested in what others are using in their
> personal setups, especially the mic element (we're ordering the Knowles
> EK3029c, but I noticed that Knowles is making several new(?) water-proof
> models), pre-amp (currently I'm going with an Blue Icicle XLR->USB to go
> directly into a laptop, but considering the Rolls MP13 to go directly to my
> stereo receiver), and recording device (recorder, computer, etc.; for now
> I'll be going into my MacBookPro, but will probably get a dedicated
> computer... some of us are more interested in simply having it stream into
> our home stereo, so we can listen in real-time).
>
> Anyone want to share their setup, pros/cons, and experiences?
>
> Cheers
>
> David
> 
>
> David A. La Puma, Ph.D.
> Postdoctoral Associate – Ecology, behavior and conservation of migratory
> birds
> New Jersey Audubon Society
> 600 Route 47 North
> Cape May Court House, NJ 08210
> Office: 609.861.1608 x33
> Fax:609.861.1651
>
> Websites:
> http://www.woodcreeper.com
> http://badbirdz2.wordpress.com
>
> Photos:
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodcreeper
>
>
>
>

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Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

2010-04-06 Thread David La Puma
and my response was: when we did dawn surveys of Cape Sable seaside sparrow,
on a still morning we could hear them at least to 500m (~1500ft), while on a
day with a little wind blowing the sound towards us (~5ks?) we would pick
them up out to over 1km (> ~3000ft). Interestingly (and to my surprise, when
I thought about it) that's well within the densest part of the nocturnal
migrant distribution (according to radar studies). Now the various wrenches:
1. on our morning surveys, the birds were singing "at" us, versus
perpendicular to us as one would expect from a nocturnal migrant. 2. both of
my observations were when winds were either still, or blowing the sound
towards us. In cases when the bird was down wind from us, our detection
distance was definitely less. For that reason, we only counted birds within
200m for our surveys.

I think I remember talking to Andrew F. and/or Mike L. about this very
thing... but I can't remember what, if any, work had been done on it.

I look forward to the discussion!

Cheers

David


David A. La Puma, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate – Ecology, behavior and conservation of migratory
birds
New Jersey Audubon Society
600 Route 47 North
Cape May Court House, NJ 08210
Office: 609.861.1608 x33
Fax:609.861.1651

Websites:
http://www.woodcreeper.com
http://badbirdz2.wordpress.com

Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodcreeper






On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 4:42 PM, Donald P. Freiday  wrote:

>  This reminds me of a question Dave LaPuma and I were knocking around the
> other day.  How high can birds making nfc’s be heard by naked ear? By
> microphone?  Has this been worked out? Of course it is conditions-specific,
> so for starters how about a still night and a loudish call, like SWTH?
>
>
>
> -
>
> Donald P. Freiday,
>
> Director of Birding Programs,
>
> New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory
>
> (609) 861-0700 x16
>
> don.frei...@njaudubon.org
>
> www.bircapemay.org/blog
>   --
>
> *From:* bounce-5534428-10072...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:
> bounce-5534428-10072...@list.cornell.edu] *On Behalf Of *Michael O'Brien
> *Sent:* Tuesday, April 06, 2010 4:29 PM
>
> *To:* Jeff Wells
> *Cc:* NFC-L@cornell.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
>
>
>
> Maybe the robins over your station are typically too high to be heard in
> the middle of the night. Just a thought.
>
>
>
> Re terns, I have also only herd Caspian. I have heard them both spring in
> and fall inland, but I don't recall ever hearing them along the coast.
>
>
>
> Michael
>
>
> - Original Message -
> From: "Jeff Wells" 
> To: "Michael O'Brien" 
> Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 4:08:38 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
>
> Very cool! Makes sense when you see large numbers of robins flying over in
> the early morning hours that they would be birds that have been moving at
> night. Funny though that over the years I don’t recall picking up any within
> the 10 PM-2 AM window that I think of as indicating birds moving through the
> night as opposed to in the early morning hours when it is not as clear
> whether they just started migrating or are descending.
>
>
>
> Speaking of birds that move through the night but are not as readily
> detected, have any of you picked up terns other than Caspian Tern migrating
> at night? It’s obvious that they migrate at night based on the way they just
> appear one morning in a location but it seems like you don’t hear them.
> Though at least Caspian Terns in the fall when they have still-dependent
> young regularly call back and forth with the trailing young birds at night.
>
>
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
> *From:* Michael O'Brien [mailto:tsw...@comcast.net]
> *Sent:* Tuesday, April 06, 2010 3:59 PM
> *To:* Jeff Wells
> *Cc:* NFC-L@cornell.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
>
>
>
> Jeff,
>
>
>
> I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a diurnal
> migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly is
> not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at
> least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of the
> morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly
> heavy flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my
> estimation is that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. I
> find their behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to be
> less vocal. It would be interesting to know what others have observed and if
> the situation is different elsewhere. My guess is that the main difference,
> if any, is that robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly
> more quietly in others.
>
>
>
> good listening!
>
> Michael O'Brien
>
>
>

Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

2010-04-06 Thread Michael Lanzone
Hi All,

We do occasionally pick up robins on some of our recordings, but they are
few and far between in the night hours (pre 3am) and that is on well over
20k hours of recordings here and in the Appalachians. I tend to hear many
more from 3-5am. However, on several occasions here I have observed
(visually) on top of Laurel Ridge in PA and Backbone Mtn and Allegheny Front
in MD and WV robins during the middle of the night, one time 100s of them
flying low in the middle of the night. They were largely silent, I may have
heard ~5 calls of 5-600 birds, but may have certainly masked by the high
calling rate that night. These birds were forced low because of fog and
there was a heavy flight those nights with a lot of flight calling activity,
and these spots were lighted and I could readily ID many of the birds coming
over with binoculars and naked eye. Almost all of our recording stations are
not lit and we purposely do not record in lighted areas as that does inflate
call rates, however it would be interesting to compare some of these
locations with the darker ones, a study that I had talked about last year,
possibly by this fall I can get a few more stations online to do such a
comparison. I wonder if robins either call less nocturnally, fly much
higher, coastal effects cause a higher calling rate and/or their calls are
softer and may be masked by thrushes.

Best,
Mike

Michael Lanzone
Biotechnology and Biomonitoring Lab Supervisor
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Powdermill Avian Research Center
1847 Route 381
Rector, PA 15677
724.593.5521 Office
mlanz...@gmail.com


On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 4:34 PM, Jeff Wells  wrote:

>  Maybe but you would think that under certain conditions with low cloud
> cover, etc., that over the years I would have picked them up. Maybe it is
> one of those things that happens more often late and early in the year when
> I am not recording as much…..
>
>
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
> *From:* Michael O'Brien [mailto:tsw...@comcast.net]
> *Sent:* Tuesday, April 06, 2010 4:29 PM
>
> *To:* Jeff Wells
> *Cc:* NFC-L@cornell.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
>
>
>
> Maybe the robins over your station are typically too high to be heard in
> the middle of the night. Just a thought.
>
>
>
> Re terns, I have also only herd Caspian. I have heard them both spring in
> and fall inland, but I don't recall ever hearing them along the coast.
>
>
>
> Michael
>
>
> - Original Message -
> From: "Jeff Wells" 
> To: "Michael O'Brien" 
> Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 4:08:38 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
>
> Very cool! Makes sense when you see large numbers of robins flying over in
> the early morning hours that they would be birds that have been moving at
> night. Funny though that over the years I don’t recall picking up any within
> the 10 PM-2 AM window that I think of as indicating birds moving through the
> night as opposed to in the early morning hours when it is not as clear
> whether they just started migrating or are descending.
>
>
>
> Speaking of birds that move through the night but are not as readily
> detected, have any of you picked up terns other than Caspian Tern migrating
> at night? It’s obvious that they migrate at night based on the way they just
> appear one morning in a location but it seems like you don’t hear them.
> Though at least Caspian Terns in the fall when they have still-dependent
> young regularly call back and forth with the trailing young birds at night.
>
>
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
> *From:* Michael O'Brien [mailto:tsw...@comcast.net]
> *Sent:* Tuesday, April 06, 2010 3:59 PM
> *To:* Jeff Wells
> *Cc:* NFC-L@cornell.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
>
>
>
> Jeff,
>
>
>
> I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a diurnal
> migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly is
> not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at
> least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of the
> morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly
> heavy flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my
> estimation is that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. I
> find their behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to be
> less vocal. It would be interesting to know what others have observed and if
> the situation is different elsewhere. My guess is that the main difference,
> if any, is that robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly
> more quietly in others.
>
>
>
> good listening!
>
> Michael O'Brien
>
>
>
>
> - Original Message -
> From: "Jeff Wells" 
> To: NFC-L@cornell.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 2:42:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
>
> I 

RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

2010-04-06 Thread Donald P. Freiday
This reminds me of a question Dave LaPuma and I were knocking around the
other day.  How high can birds making nfc's be heard by naked ear? By
microphone?  Has this been worked out? Of course it is conditions-specific,
so for starters how about a still night and a loudish call, like SWTH?

 

-

Donald P. Freiday,

Director of Birding Programs,

New Jersey Audubon's Cape May Bird Observatory

(609) 861-0700 x16

don.frei...@njaudubon.org

www.bircapemay.org/blog 

  _  

From: bounce-5534428-10072...@list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce-5534428-10072...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Michael
O'Brien
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 4:29 PM
To: Jeff Wells
Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

 

Maybe the robins over your station are typically too high to be heard in the
middle of the night. Just a thought. 

 

Re terns, I have also only herd Caspian. I have heard them both spring in
and fall inland, but I don't recall ever hearing them along the coast. 

 

Michael


- Original Message -
From: "Jeff Wells" 
To: "Michael O'Brien" 
Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 4:08:38 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

Very cool! Makes sense when you see large numbers of robins flying over in
the early morning hours that they would be birds that have been moving at
night. Funny though that over the years I don't recall picking up any within
the 10 PM-2 AM window that I think of as indicating birds moving through the
night as opposed to in the early morning hours when it is not as clear
whether they just started migrating or are descending.

 

Speaking of birds that move through the night but are not as readily
detected, have any of you picked up terns other than Caspian Tern migrating
at night? It's obvious that they migrate at night based on the way they just
appear one morning in a location but it seems like you don't hear them.
Though at least Caspian Terns in the fall when they have still-dependent
young regularly call back and forth with the trailing young birds at night.

 

Jeff

 

From: Michael O'Brien [mailto:tsw...@comcast.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 3:59 PM
To: Jeff Wells
Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

 

Jeff,

 

I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a diurnal
migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly is
not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at
least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of the
morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly
heavy flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my
estimation is that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. I
find their behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to be
less vocal. It would be interesting to know what others have observed and if
the situation is different elsewhere. My guess is that the main difference,
if any, is that robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly
more quietly in others. 

 

good listening!

Michael O'Brien

 


- Original Message -
From: "Jeff Wells" 
To: NFC-L@cornell.edu
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 2:42:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

I started my automated recording station for the season here in Maine on
Thursday night, April 1st. Although there were few calls each of the last
three nights, the numbers increased a little each night from about 10 the
night of the 1st to about 30 last night. There were a few Hermit Thrushes
the first night, 6 the 2nd and 12 the night of the 3rd. There were a few
Killdeer each night, a Wood Duck, and 4-10 sparrows each night with Song and
White-throat plus a couple that may be American Tree Sparrow and a junco or
two. A few other items of interest: 

 

-several nights had Herring Gull calls in the middle of the night that I
assume are night migrating birds;

 

-several nights had the squeal flight calls of American Robins around
midnight. Although I sometimes have what I assume to be local on-the-ground
robins sing and give ground alarm calls in the middle of the night, they
don't give the squeal calls. The acoustics of the recorded squeal calls also
seem more like birds overhead. I suspect that, as unlikely as it seems, that
these were night-flying robins when by all accounts the species is only a
diurnal migrant;

 

-one night I had what sounded like a bit of song of a night-flying Hermit
Thrush. I typically get some night-flying birds in May that break out in
song or partial song while flying overhead but I had never picked that up
for Hermit Thrush.

 

I posted some of the call files on my blog at: www.borealbirds.org/blog

 

RE: [nfc-l] mic setup

2010-04-06 Thread Jeff Wells
I have always used the Rolls MP13 and have found it very reliable and
durable. 

 

Jeff

 

From: bounce-5534450-9874...@list.cornell.edu
[mailto:bounce-5534450-9874...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of David La
Puma
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 4:32 PM
To: nfc-l@cornell.edu
Subject: [nfc-l] mic setup

 

Hey All-

A group of us in Cape May are going to be building some personal
recording setups in the next week(s). I'm interested in what others are
using in their personal setups, especially the mic element (we're
ordering the Knowles EK3029c, but I noticed that Knowles is making
several new(?) water-proof models), pre-amp (currently I'm going with an
Blue Icicle XLR->USB to go directly into a laptop, but considering the
Rolls MP13 to go directly to my stereo receiver), and recording device
(recorder, computer, etc.; for now I'll be going into my MacBookPro, but
will probably get a dedicated computer... some of us are more interested
in simply having it stream into our home stereo, so we can listen in
real-time).

Anyone want to share their setup, pros/cons, and experiences?

Cheers

David


David A. La Puma, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate - Ecology, behavior and conservation of migratory
birds
New Jersey Audubon Society
600 Route 47 North
Cape May Court House, NJ 08210
Office: 609.861.1608 x33
Fax:609.861.1651

Websites: 
http://www.woodcreeper.com
http://badbirdz2.wordpress.com

Photos: 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodcreeper






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RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

2010-04-06 Thread Jeff Wells
Maybe but you would think that under certain conditions with low cloud cover, 
etc., that over the years I would have picked them up. Maybe it is one of those 
things that happens more often late and early in the year when I am not 
recording as much…..

 

Jeff

 

From: Michael O'Brien [mailto:tsw...@comcast.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 4:29 PM
To: Jeff Wells
Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

 

Maybe the robins over your station are typically too high to be heard in the 
middle of the night. Just a thought. 

 

Re terns, I have also only herd Caspian. I have heard them both spring in and 
fall inland, but I don't recall ever hearing them along the coast. 

 

Michael


- Original Message -
From: "Jeff Wells" 
To: "Michael O'Brien" 
Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 4:08:38 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

Very cool! Makes sense when you see large numbers of robins flying over in the 
early morning hours that they would be birds that have been moving at night. 
Funny though that over the years I don’t recall picking up any within the 10 
PM-2 AM window that I think of as indicating birds moving through the night as 
opposed to in the early morning hours when it is not as clear whether they just 
started migrating or are descending.

 

Speaking of birds that move through the night but are not as readily detected, 
have any of you picked up terns other than Caspian Tern migrating at night? 
It’s obvious that they migrate at night based on the way they just appear one 
morning in a location but it seems like you don’t hear them. Though at least 
Caspian Terns in the fall when they have still-dependent young regularly call 
back and forth with the trailing young birds at night.

 

Jeff

 

From: Michael O'Brien [mailto:tsw...@comcast.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 3:59 PM
To: Jeff Wells
Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

 

Jeff,

 

I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a diurnal 
migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly is 
not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at 
least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of the 
morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly heavy 
flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my estimation is 
that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. I find their 
behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to be less vocal. It 
would be interesting to know what others have observed and if the situation is 
different elsewhere. My guess is that the main difference, if any, is that 
robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly more quietly in 
others. 

 

good listening!

Michael O'Brien

 


- Original Message -
From: "Jeff Wells" 
To: NFC-L@cornell.edu
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 2:42:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

I started my automated recording station for the season here in Maine on 
Thursday night, April 1st. Although there were few calls each of the last three 
nights, the numbers increased a little each night from about 10 the night of 
the 1st to about 30 last night. There were a few Hermit Thrushes the first 
night, 6 the 2nd and 12 the night of the 3rd. There were a few Killdeer each 
night, a Wood Duck, and 4-10 sparrows each night with Song and White-throat 
plus a couple that may be American Tree Sparrow and a junco or two. A few other 
items of interest: 

 

-several nights had Herring Gull calls in the middle of the night that I assume 
are night migrating birds;

 

-several nights had the squeal flight calls of American Robins around midnight. 
Although I sometimes have what I assume to be local on-the-ground robins sing 
and give ground alarm calls in the middle of the night, they don't give the 
squeal calls. The acoustics of the recorded squeal calls also seem more like 
birds overhead. I suspect that, as unlikely as it seems, that these were 
night-flying robins when by all accounts the species is only a diurnal migrant;

 

-one night I had what sounded like a bit of song of a night-flying Hermit 
Thrush. I typically get some night-flying birds in May that break out in song 
or partial song while flying overhead but I had never picked that up for Hermit 
Thrush.

 

I posted some of the call files on my blog at: www.borealbirds.org/blog

 

Jeff Wells

 

 


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Please submit 

Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

2010-04-06 Thread Tom Johnson
Jeff,
I've heard Common Tern at night once in southeastern Pennsylvania well
away from water (so clearly migrating).  This was in spring, probably
May.
On the robin front, in addition to coastal movements, I've heard them
in Ithaca while circulating over the lights of the football stadium
here several times in the fall, though always greatly outnumbered by
Savannah Sparrows, etc.
Cheers,
Tom


On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 4:29 PM, Michael O'Brien  wrote:
> Maybe the robins over your station are typically too high to be heard in the
> middle of the night. Just a thought.
> Re terns, I have also only herd Caspian. I have heard them both spring in
> and fall inland, but I don't recall ever hearing them along the coast.
>
> Michael
> - Original Message -
> From: "Jeff Wells" 
> To: "Michael O'Brien" 
> Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 4:08:38 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
>
> Very cool! Makes sense when you see large numbers of robins flying over in
> the early morning hours that they would be birds that have been moving at
> night. Funny though that over the years I don’t recall picking up any within
> the 10 PM-2 AM window that I think of as indicating birds moving through the
> night as opposed to in the early morning hours when it is not as clear
> whether they just started migrating or are descending.
>
>
>
> Speaking of birds that move through the night but are not as readily
> detected, have any of you picked up terns other than Caspian Tern migrating
> at night? It’s obvious that they migrate at night based on the way they just
> appear one morning in a location but it seems like you don’t hear them.
> Though at least Caspian Terns in the fall when they have still-dependent
> young regularly call back and forth with the trailing young birds at night.
>
>
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
> From: Michael O'Brien [mailto:tsw...@comcast.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 3:59 PM
> To: Jeff Wells
> Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu
> Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
>
>
>
> Jeff,
>
>
>
> I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a diurnal
> migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly is
> not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at
> least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of the
> morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly
> heavy flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my
> estimation is that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. I
> find their behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to be
> less vocal. It would be interesting to know what others have observed and if
> the situation is different elsewhere. My guess is that the main difference,
> if any, is that robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly
> more quietly in others.
>
>
>
> good listening!
>
> Michael O'Brien
>
>
>
> - Original Message -
> From: "Jeff Wells" 
> To: NFC-L@cornell.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 2:42:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
>
> I started my automated recording station for the season here in Maine on
> Thursday night, April 1st. Although there were few calls each of the last
> three nights, the numbers increased a little each night from about 10 the
> night of the 1st to about 30 last night. There were a few Hermit Thrushes
> the first night, 6 the 2nd and 12 the night of the 3rd. There were a few
> Killdeer each night, a Wood Duck, and 4-10 sparrows each night with Song and
> White-throat plus a couple that may be American Tree Sparrow and a junco or
> two. A few other items of interest:
>
>
>
> -several nights had Herring Gull calls in the middle of the night that I
> assume are night migrating birds;
>
>
>
> -several nights had the squeal flight calls of American Robins around
> midnight. Although I sometimes have what I assume to be local on-the-ground
> robins sing and give ground alarm calls in the middle of the night, they
> don't give the squeal calls. The acoustics of the recorded squeal calls also
> seem more like birds overhead. I suspect that, as unlikely as it seems, that
> these were night-flying robins when by all accounts the species is only a
> diurnal migrant;
>
>
>
> -one night I had what sounded like a bit of song of a night-flying Hermit
> Thrush. I typically get some night-flying birds in May that break out in
> song or partial song while flying overhead but I had never picked that up
> for Hermit Thrush.
>
>
>
> I posted some of the call files on my blog at: www.borealbirds.org/blog
>
>
>
> Jeff Wells
>
>
>
>



-- 
Thomas Brodie Johnson
Ithaca, NY
t...@cornell.edu
mobile:  717.991.5727

--

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ARCHIVES:

[nfc-l] mic setup

2010-04-06 Thread David La Puma
Hey All-

A group of us in Cape May are going to be building some personal recording
setups in the next week(s). I'm interested in what others are using in their
personal setups, especially the mic element (we're ordering the Knowles
EK3029c, but I noticed that Knowles is making several new(?) water-proof
models), pre-amp (currently I'm going with an Blue Icicle XLR->USB to go
directly into a laptop, but considering the Rolls MP13 to go directly to my
stereo receiver), and recording device (recorder, computer, etc.; for now
I'll be going into my MacBookPro, but will probably get a dedicated
computer... some of us are more interested in simply having it stream into
our home stereo, so we can listen in real-time).

Anyone want to share their setup, pros/cons, and experiences?

Cheers

David


David A. La Puma, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Associate – Ecology, behavior and conservation of migratory
birds
New Jersey Audubon Society
600 Route 47 North
Cape May Court House, NJ 08210
Office: 609.861.1608 x33
Fax:609.861.1651

Websites:
http://www.woodcreeper.com
http://badbirdz2.wordpress.com

Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodcreeper

--

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http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_WELCOME
http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NFC_RULES

ARCHIVES:
1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nfc-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html
2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html
3) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NFC-L

Please submit your observations to eBird:
http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

--

Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

2010-04-06 Thread Michael O'Brien
Maybe the robins over your station are typically too high to be heard in the 
middle of the night. Just a thought. 


Re terns, I have also only herd Caspian. I have heard them both spring in and 
fall inland, but I don't recall ever hearing them along the coast. 



Michael 

- Original Message - 
From: "Jeff Wells"  
To: "Michael O'Brien"  
Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu 
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 4:08:38 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 




Very cool! Makes sense when you see large numbers of robins flying over in the 
early morning hours that they would be birds that have been moving at night. 
Funny though that over the years I don’t recall picking up any within the 10 
PM-2 AM window that I think of as indicating birds moving through the night as 
opposed to in the early morning hours when it is not as clear whether they just 
started migrating or are descending. 



Speaking of birds that move through the night but are not as readily detected, 
have any of you picked up terns other than Caspian Tern migrating at night? 
It’s obvious that they migrate at night based on the way they just appear one 
morning in a location but it seems like you don’t hear them. Though at least 
Caspian Terns in the fall when they have still-dependent young regularly call 
back and forth with the trailing young birds at night. 



Jeff 





From: Michael O'Brien [mailto:tsw...@comcast.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 3:59 PM 
To: Jeff Wells 
Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu 
Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 




Jeff, 





I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a diurnal 
migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly is 
not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at 
least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of the 
morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly heavy 
flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my estimation is 
that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. I find their 
behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to be less vocal. It 
would be interesting to know what others have observed and if the situation is 
different elsewhere. My guess is that the main difference, if any, is that 
robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly more quietly in 
others. 





good listening! 


Michael O'Brien 






- Original Message - 
From: "Jeff Wells"  
To: NFC-L@cornell.edu 
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 2:42:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 




I started my automated recording station for the season here in Maine on 
Thursday night, April 1st. Although there were few calls each of the last three 
nights, the numbers increased a little each night from about 10 the night of 
the 1st to about 30 last night. There were a few Hermit Thrushes the first 
night, 6 the 2nd and 12 the night of the 3rd. There were a few Killdeer each 
night, a Wood Duck, and 4-10 sparrows each night with Song and White-throat 
plus a couple that may be American Tree Sparrow and a junco or two. A few other 
items of interest: 







-several nights had Herring Gull calls in the middle of the night that I assume 
are night migrating birds; 





-several nights had the squeal flight calls of American Robins around midnight. 
Although I sometimes have what I assume to be local on-the-ground robins sing 
and give ground alarm calls in the middle of the night, they don't give the 
squeal calls. The acoustics of the recorded squeal calls also seem more like 
birds overhead. I suspect that, as unlikely as it seems, that these were 
night-flying robins when by all accounts the species is only a diurnal migrant; 





-one night I had what sounded like a bit of song of a night-flying Hermit 
Thrush. I typically get some night-flying birds in May that break out in song 
or partial song while flying overhead but I had never picked that up for Hermit 
Thrush. 



I posted some of the call files on my blog at: www.borealbirds.org/blog 





Jeff Wells 





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Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

2010-04-06 Thread Laura Erickson
The BNA for American Robin entry implies that robins do migrate occasionally
at nighttime (which is what I learned in ornithology back in the 70s--that
they're like Canada Geese in that they can migrate whenever they darned-well
feel like it). BNA says, "Migrating in flocks primarily during the day,
birds strike television towers less often than do regular nocturnal
migrants," and "Captive robins kept on a near-normal spring photoperiod of
12:12 to 16:8 h develop migratory restlessness that lasts through both the
daytime and nighttime hours (Kemper and Taylor
1981).
More information needed."

When I counted migrating songbirds along Lake Superior during autumns in the
1980s and early 90s, robins were often on the move when we first arrived at
or before sunrise.

Best, Laura Erickson


On Tue, Apr 6, 2010 at 4:08 PM, Jeff Wells  wrote:

>  Very cool! Makes sense when you see large numbers of robins flying over
> in the early morning hours that they would be birds that have been moving at
> night. Funny though that over the years I don’t recall picking up any within
> the 10 PM-2 AM window that I think of as indicating birds moving through the
> night as opposed to in the early morning hours when it is not as clear
> whether they just started migrating or are descending.
>
>
>
> Speaking of birds that move through the night but are not as readily
> detected, have any of you picked up terns other than Caspian Tern migrating
> at night? It’s obvious that they migrate at night based on the way they just
> appear one morning in a location but it seems like you don’t hear them.
> Though at least Caspian Terns in the fall when they have still-dependent
> young regularly call back and forth with the trailing young birds at night.
>
>
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
> *From:* Michael O'Brien [mailto:tsw...@comcast.net]
> *Sent:* Tuesday, April 06, 2010 3:59 PM
> *To:* Jeff Wells
> *Cc:* NFC-L@cornell.edu
> *Subject:* Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
>
>
>
> Jeff,
>
>
>
> I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a diurnal
> migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly is
> not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at
> least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of the
> morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly
> heavy flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my
> estimation is that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. I
> find their behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to be
> less vocal. It would be interesting to know what others have observed and if
> the situation is different elsewhere. My guess is that the main difference,
> if any, is that robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly
> more quietly in others.
>
>
>
> good listening!
>
> Michael O'Brien
>
>
>
>
> - Original Message -
> From: "Jeff Wells" 
> To: NFC-L@cornell.edu
> Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 2:42:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3
>
> I started my automated recording station for the season here in Maine on
> Thursday night, April 1st. Although there were few calls each of the last
> three nights, the numbers increased a little each night from about 10 the
> night of the 1st to about 30 last night. There were a few Hermit Thrushes
> the first night, 6 the 2nd and 12 the night of the 3rd. There were a few
> Killdeer each night, a Wood Duck, and 4-10 sparrows each night with Song and
> White-throat plus a couple that may be American Tree Sparrow and a junco or
> two. A few other items of interest:
>
>
>
> -several nights had Herring Gull calls in the middle of the night that I
> assume are night migrating birds;
>
>
>
> -several nights had the squeal flight calls of American Robins around
> midnight. Although I sometimes have what I assume to be local on-the-ground
> robins sing and give ground alarm calls in the middle of the night, they
> don't give the squeal calls. The acoustics of the recorded squeal calls also
> seem more like birds overhead. I suspect that, as unlikely as it seems, that
> these were night-flying robins when by all accounts the species is only a
> diurnal migrant;
>
>
>
> -one night I had what sounded like a bit of song of a night-flying Hermit
> Thrush. I typically get some night-flying birds in May that break out in
> song or partial song while flying overhead but I had never picked that up
> for Hermit Thrush.
>
>
>
> I posted some of the call files on my blog at: www.borealbirds.org/blog
>
>
>
> Jeff Wells
>
>
>
>
>



-- 
-- 
Laura Erickson
Science Editor
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-254-1114


If you've found this information useful, I hope you'll consider supporting
our work on behalf of birds and 

[nfc-l] Virginia Rail FOY night migrant

2010-04-06 Thread Jeff Wells
 

Seems amazingly early to me but on Monday night my automated nocturnal
flight call set-up at my house picked up a Virginia Rail passing over.

 

Jeff Wells

Gardiner, Maine


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RE: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

2010-04-06 Thread Jeff Wells
Very cool! Makes sense when you see large numbers of robins flying over in the 
early morning hours that they would be birds that have been moving at night. 
Funny though that over the years I don’t recall picking up any within the 10 
PM-2 AM window that I think of as indicating birds moving through the night as 
opposed to in the early morning hours when it is not as clear whether they just 
started migrating or are descending.

 

Speaking of birds that move through the night but are not as readily detected, 
have any of you picked up terns other than Caspian Tern migrating at night? 
It’s obvious that they migrate at night based on the way they just appear one 
morning in a location but it seems like you don’t hear them. Though at least 
Caspian Terns in the fall when they have still-dependent young regularly call 
back and forth with the trailing young birds at night.

 

Jeff

 

From: Michael O'Brien [mailto:tsw...@comcast.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 3:59 PM
To: Jeff Wells
Cc: NFC-L@cornell.edu
Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

 

Jeff,

 

I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a diurnal 
migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly is 
not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at 
least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of the 
morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly heavy 
flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my estimation is 
that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. I find their 
behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to be less vocal. It 
would be interesting to know what others have observed and if the situation is 
different elsewhere. My guess is that the main difference, if any, is that 
robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly more quietly in 
others. 

 

good listening!

Michael O'Brien

 


- Original Message -
From: "Jeff Wells" 
To: NFC-L@cornell.edu
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 2:42:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

I started my automated recording station for the season here in Maine on 
Thursday night, April 1st. Although there were few calls each of the last three 
nights, the numbers increased a little each night from about 10 the night of 
the 1st to about 30 last night. There were a few Hermit Thrushes the first 
night, 6 the 2nd and 12 the night of the 3rd. There were a few Killdeer each 
night, a Wood Duck, and 4-10 sparrows each night with Song and White-throat 
plus a couple that may be American Tree Sparrow and a junco or two. A few other 
items of interest: 

 

-several nights had Herring Gull calls in the middle of the night that I assume 
are night migrating birds;

 

-several nights had the squeal flight calls of American Robins around midnight. 
Although I sometimes have what I assume to be local on-the-ground robins sing 
and give ground alarm calls in the middle of the night, they don't give the 
squeal calls. The acoustics of the recorded squeal calls also seem more like 
birds overhead. I suspect that, as unlikely as it seems, that these were 
night-flying robins when by all accounts the species is only a diurnal migrant;

 

-one night I had what sounded like a bit of song of a night-flying Hermit 
Thrush. I typically get some night-flying birds in May that break out in song 
or partial song while flying overhead but I had never picked that up for Hermit 
Thrush.

 

I posted some of the call files on my blog at: www.borealbirds.org/blog

 

Jeff Wells

 

 


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Re: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3

2010-04-06 Thread Michael O'Brien
Jeff, 


I'm interested in your assertion that American Robin is strictly a diurnal 
migrant. Perhaps that is true in some areas, but in Cape May it certainly is 
not. We regularly see massive American Robin flights at night, in fall at 
least. These flights often continue or resume in the first few hours of the 
morning and again in the last hour or so of the day. During particularly heavy 
flights, the movements may continue longer into the day, but my estimation is 
that the bulk of the movement always takes place at night. I find their 
behavior to be much like that of Bobolink, only they seem to be less vocal. It 
would be interesting to know what others have observed and if the situation is 
different elsewhere. My guess is that the main difference, if any, is that 
robins call more frequently in certain situations and fly more quietly in 
others. 


good listening! 
Michael O'Brien 



- Original Message - 
From: "Jeff Wells"  
To: NFC-L@cornell.edu 
Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 2:42:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: [nfc-l] Night flight call station results-Maine-April 1-3 






I started my automated recording station for the season here in Maine on 
Thursday night, April 1st. Although there were few calls each of the last three 
nights, the numbers increased a little each night from about 10 the night of 
the 1st to about 30 last night. There were a few Hermit Thrushes the first 
night, 6 the 2nd and 12 the night of the 3rd. There were a few Killdeer each 
night, a Wood Duck, and 4-10 sparrows each night with Song and White-throat 
plus a couple that may be American Tree Sparrow and a junco or two. A few other 
items of interest: 







-several nights had Herring Gull calls in the middle of the night that I assume 
are night migrating birds; 





-several nights had the squeal flight calls of American Robins around midnight. 
Although I sometimes have what I assume to be local on-the-ground robins sing 
and give ground alarm calls in the middle of the night, they don't give the 
squeal calls. The acoustics of the recorded squeal calls also seem more like 
birds overhead. I suspect that, as unlikely as it seems, that these were 
night-flying robins when by all accounts the species is only a diurnal migrant; 





-one night I had what sounded like a bit of song of a night-flying Hermit 
Thrush. I typically get some night-flying birds in May that break out in song 
or partial song while flying overhead but I had never picked that up for Hermit 
Thrush. 



I posted some of the call files on my blog at: www.borealbirds.org/blog 





Jeff Wells 





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2) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NFCL.html
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Please submit your observations to eBird:
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