As I leave the street lights of York in the early morning, my attention is drawn to the oval of luminescence cast by my bike light 10 meters ahead of my front tire. You can get mesmerized by it, almost over-focused. It can be a good thing, spotting cracks, stones, errant skunks and possums but once you see the way is clear the whole sky opens up. this morning, as there was no fog for the first time in quite a while, I was able to take in the magnificent sky – Orion overhead, anchoring the Winter Triangle. The Triangle is made up of 3 very bright stars: Sirius (in Canis Major), Betelgeuse (in Orion) and Procyon (in Canis Minor). I sometimes wonder if these constellations play a part in the navigation of the songbirds that wing their way south under the cover of night – when it’s cool and they can’t be seen by predators.

This ongoing heat is oppressive and you wonder if it’s causing migrants to remain in the north. Possibly for some, but my hunch is that they are so genetically “hard-wired” that events like the length of day, the height of the sun above the horizon, and the shifting of stars and constellations would override local weather conditions and they would be on the move when their internal program tells them it’s time.

We’re starting to get some of the “later” species: we banded the first White-throated Sparrow yesterday (and another today) and saw the first Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Blue-headed Vireo of the season today. The next wave of migrants is on the way.

Banded 18:
1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
1 House Wren
6 Gray Catbirds
1 Cedar Waxwing

1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
1 Tennessee Warbler
1 Magnolia Warbler
1 Ovenbird
2 Common Yellowthroats
1 Northern Cardinal
1 White-throated Sparrow

ET’s: 38 spp.

Rick