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Index of Subjects This message is in MIME format. --=_COp17Bn3LVdKw2CAmRkUIQ1 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed; DelSp=Yes Content-Description: Plaintext Message Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Hi Blake, and all, Yesterday evening I walked around Port Williams, behind the Great Valley Juices apple juice plant there were 75 robins, perched on the roof top, on the railings, on the ground, in dumpsters, they were very actively feeding on the apple pomace that fell from the trucks as it was loaded. There is also apple pomace and rotting apples in trucks and dumpsters, the robins appeared lethargic, but I assumed that they were drunk! The smell of fermenting apple is distinctive, there is cider and vinegar in most of the apples in the yard here. Along the Cornwallis River the robins are foraging on the tide side of the running dyke, they seem to be finding food here, a surf diet rather than a turf diet! When they first arrived a few days ago I counted 145 just along the river behind the Port Williams sewer lagoon. Recently they seem more dispersed but are still here. Last evening they were two dozen in the same area. I haven't seen woodcock, maybe they are more evident along the south shore rather than the Valley. Cheers, George Forsyth Quoting Blake Maybank <bmaybank@gmail.com>: > 8 April 2015 > > I found a moribund American Robin on a bare patch of gravel driveway > and took it inside to offer warmth and food, but it did not survive the > night. I doubt this bird death is an isolated event this spring. Birds > require an energy re-boost when they arrive after long migration > flights, and when their preferred feeding areas are covered by ice and > snow, things can quickly become dire. > > Seed-eating birds can profit from feeders, but things are more > difficult for robins and woodcocks, the two species that have been > making headlines lately. There have been lots of woodcock reports among > the birding community, but when I canvasses members of my choir last > night almost 20% had noted either woodcocks or large flocks of robins. > > I put fruit out today for robins. I hope they find it. > > Robins are prolific breeders, and I expect the local population will > rebound from this spring's mortality, but I suspect it will be more > difficult for the woodcocks. > > Has anyone else noted mortality? I assume for every dead bird we > find that many, many more die without being noted. > > Blake > > -- > Blake Maybank[1] > White's Lake, Nova Scotia > > Links: ------ [1] mailto:bmaybank@gmail.com --=_COp17Bn3LVdKw2CAmRkUIQ1 Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Description: HTML Message Content-Disposition: inline <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <title></title> </head> <body style="font-family:Arial;font-size:14px"> <p>Hi Blake, and all,<br> <br> Yesterday evening I walked around Port Williams, behind the Great Valley Juices apple juice plant there were 75 robins, perched on the roof top, on the railings, on the ground, in dumpsters, they were very actively feeding on the apple pomace that fell from the trucks as it was loaded. There is also apple pomace and rotting apples in trucks and dumpsters, the robins appeared lethargic, but I assumed that they were drunk! The smell of fermenting apple is distinctive, there is cider and vinegar in most of the apples in the yard here.<br> <br> Along the Cornwallis River the robins are foraging on the tide side of the running dyke, they seem to be finding food here, a surf diet rather than a turf diet! When they first arrived a few days ago I counted 145 just along the river behind the Port Williams sewer lagoon. Recently they seem more dispersed but are still here. Last evening they were two dozen in the same area.<br> <br> I haven't seen woodcock, maybe they are more evident along the south shore rather than the Valley.<br> <br> Cheers, George Forsyth<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Quoting Blake Maybank <bmaybank@gmail.com>:</p> <blockquote style="border-left:2px solid blue;margin-left:2px;padding-left:12px;" type="cite"> <div dir="ltr"> <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large">8 April 2015<br> </div> <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large">I found a moribund American Robin on a bare patch of gravel driveway and took it inside to offer warmth and food, but it did not survive the night. I doubt this bird death is an isolated event this spring. Birds require an energy re-boost when they arrive after long migration flights, and when their preferred feeding areas are covered by ice and snow, things can quickly become dire. <br> </div> <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large">Seed-eating birds can profit from feeders, but things are more difficult for robins and woodcocks, the two species that have been making headlines lately. There have been lots of woodcock reports among the birding community, but when I canvasses members of my choir last night almost 20% had noted either woodcocks or large flocks of robins.<br> </div> <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large">I put fruit out today for robins. I hope they find it.<br> </div> <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large">Robins are prolific breeders, and I expect the local population will rebound from this spring's mortality, but I suspect it will be more difficult for the woodcocks.<br> </div> <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large">Has anyone else noted mortality? I assume for every dead bird we find that many, many more die without being noted.<br> </div> <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large">Blake</div> <br> --<br> <div> <div dir="ltr"><font size="4">Blake Maybank<br> White's Lake, Nova Scotia</font><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <div> <div> <div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <p><br> <br></p> </body> </html> --=_COp17Bn3LVdKw2CAmRkUIQ1--
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