The light and medium blue on the map are migrating birds.
The yellow and green is precipitation.
Photography by Curtis and Norma Beaird
Article by Norma Beaird
For the past few days, and especially since Hurricane Joaquin moved north in the Atlantic Ocean, bird migration has picked up again. We've had new visitors to the backyard, which is actually Le Avian Cafe & Rural Day Spa.
We've seen at least 60 Red-winged Blackbirds, an Eastern Phoebe (Flycatcher), Eastern Wood-Pewee (Flycatcher) and a Palm Warbler (Wood Warblers). Birds are moving South and quite a few have flown down to rural Georgia. There are some birds who are noted to live in Georgia full-time; however, we may only see them during migration or during weather changes. Even though the Eastern Wood-Pewee is a common breeding resident statewide from March to November, we usually see him sporadically in this area of Georgia.
The Eastern Phoebe is a common migrant and winter resident in the Georgia Coastal Plain from August to April, with the highest numbers from October to March. They are a member of the Flycatcher family.
(Source: Birds of Georgia)
NEXRAD Map by Dr. Paul Hurtado, University of Nevada - Reno.
The bird migration is indicated by the blue bursts.
A cold front was coming; and, on October 9th, migrating birds covered the right half of the United States.
The Eastern Wood-Pewee loops out from exposed perches to snatch flying insects in midair.
This technique is often referred to as "flycatching" or "hawking".
(Source: Birds of Georgia)
Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird. All rights reserved.
