Nah, its them silly Killdeer...calling out overhead  in the middle of the night...and you can't see them...but you know that they are there. :-D

rob thorn <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>I'll have to differ a bit with Bill on this one.  I think that it's the
>unpredictability of the habitat that defines a true harbinger.  Sure
>Pectorals and Louisiana Waterthrushes travel very far to get here, but
>their habitats - mudflats and streams - are less impacted by weather
>vagaries.  I've seen waterthrushes singing and carrying on in a stream
>that bisected deep snow. I doubt they had much of a problem finding
>food. Swifts are a different thing; their aerial prowess is such that a
>600 mile flight means little to them.  If conditions are bad, they just
>turn around and fly back!
>
>No, I'm more impressed by open grassland birds like Meadowlarks, Vesper
>& Savannah Sparrows, since they arrive when their haunts can be either
>open or totally snow-covered.  Not only that, but fields tend to lag
>woods in their seasonal phenology, so their first big flush of insects
>is a long way off.  The first singing Meadowlark or Vesper Sparrow is
>truly an act of faith, faith that the worst of winter is over.  That's
>the sign of a true herald.
>
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Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

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