OHIO-BIRDS Archives

August 2007

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Subject:
From:
Michael Packer <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Michael Packer <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:02:22 -0700
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If you don't have radar but you have a near full moon in the Southern sky, can you detect birds flying at night?

The answer is yes. I set up a new binocular telescope intending to observe the moon. But what I found myself doing was watching birds in the most unusual birding I have ever done.

From 10-11 pm I saw perhaps 60 birds fly in front of my telescope and the moon that subtends a very small 1/2 degree of sky. That's a small amount of sky and a surprising number of birds - about 1 per minute. Like radar, I was only really able to see birds crossing my path of view rather than flying along it. At first it seamed that more birds were flying in an W to E direction, but by the end of the hour, I was left with the impression that more birds were flying West. I would say about 35% of the birds were small passerines judging by the freq of wing flap and size. And most were about 2500 feet out or about 1250ft above ground. Another 40% were larger birds: Perhaps gulls and a few nighthawks to be sure as one put on a stunning show between me and the moon (the crater Tycho in the background if you want to get technical). The remainder were perhaps herons and raptors but closer to the beginning of observing session than end. Certainly there were a lot of bats.

Michael Packer
Grandview Heights, Columbus





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