I said these words in a previous blog: ‘Birds are now settling in to their nest-building, egg-laying, and brood-raising responsibilities.’ By now, the beginning of August, most of those brood members have left the nest, and are on their own (more or less), though some certainly remain. (Some species have multiple broods. And some are late breeders.)
A Little Review
Before we move on and cover what happens next, let’s take a look at a few photos that recap the past season.
Nest building. Here’s a Northern Mockingbird caught in the act.
Here’s a cutaway of an abandoned House Wren nest in a bird house in our backyard.
Why it was abandoned and never used, I’ll never know. Birds will do this sometimes. This is a cool shot because you can see all the different materials used, from the finer and softer materials on which eggs would be laid–the egg cup, as it were–to the larger, coarser materials that serve as the foundation, and in this case stop intruders.
Brood-raising. Here are a few pictures, again from our backyard, of adults taking care of their recently fledged young. These kinds of pictures are always touching.
Migration in July?
OK. So why the blog title, ‘The Switch has been Thrown?’ In late June, I often imagine a giant celestial lever switch being thrown–with a resounding ‘clink’–around the time of the summer solstice.
After the switch has been thrown, the days get shorter. And right around that time some birds begin their journeys south.
It’s hard to believe, but true, that southward migration has been underway for about a month. No, it doesn’t begin sometime in September. Here’s a short excerpt from recently published ‘Fall Migration Begins’ by Dr. Ashley Peele, Virginia Breeding Bird Atlas Coordinator: “Once again the Fall migration season is upon us. Our summer residents are departing, as northern migrants begin moving through Virginia. In eastern Virginia, early waves of shorebirds are moving down VA’s coastline, while the earliest fall warblers are beginning to travel down the western mountains.” That sums up what’s going on now.
And Another Reason to Watch Birds
Here’s another reason to watch birds, then. Bird watching makes us more aware of, and really attunes us to, the rhythms and cycles of nature. When we observe birds and other natural phenomena we learn about what’s going on around us, of which we’ve been largely unaware. And we hopefully reconnect. ‘Reconnect’ is the operative word. We all come into this world with an inborn fascination with nature. I learned that as a teacher of countless young children. But many lose that fascination somewhere along the line, unless it’s nurtured. Bird watching is an activity that can restore that fascination, and restore that connection.
New Additions to the Elizabeth River Critters List
We’ll wrap this up by adding a few more animals to our river critter list. Here’s a Black Swallowtail. (I can ID a few other things besides birds.)
Here’s a young rabbit.
And here’s a dolphin (one of about 6) that was swimming north past Top Rack Marina last weekend.
The dolphins spent most of their time underwater, so they were tough to capture. Brian, manager of the marina, told me he’d seen dolphins there once in the last 10 years. Jeff Thompson of the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center said that there are several reports from that area annually. Joe Rieger of ERP said this was a rare sighting. Here’s my thought. Could this sighting indicate a trend? Are dolphins, like river otters, showing up in the Elizabeth in increasing numbers as the health of the river improves? We’ll keep our fingers crossed.
Here’s an animal that may or may not indicate river health. But it qualifies as a critter all the same. Furthermore, it’s ‘wondrous strange’ (credit William Shakespeare). So we’ll add it to our list.
I captured the jellyfish near the Nauticus in downtown Norfolk. Town Point Park and the area around Nauticus is a great place to visit on Sunday mornings. Parking is free on Waterside Dr. (thank you, Sarah), but get there early. The highlights? The docks, the garden on the grounds of The Pagoda Restaurant and Tea House, and the Armed Forces Memorial.
Thank you for reading. I covet your comments. I’ll now take my leave.
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Elizabeth River Bird Blog 