It is fully spring by May and these and other long-range migrants are arriving! The movement of millions of birds from the neotropics to North America is an event many birders anticipate all winter.
he Tufted Puffin is a dramatic looking bird. Its bulky bright orange bill, striking white mask and spectacular blond feather tufts streaming back along the sides of its head contrast with dark black feathers on the rest of the bird. It is excellent swimmer capable of deep dives of up to two minutes in length.
The Surf Scoter (SUSC) is a 20” sea duck that swims in or just beyond breaking waves or ocean surf. Its genus Melanitta is Latin for black and its species perspicillata is from the Latin for conspicuous or spectacular. It is limited to North America, and winters on both coasts with some on the Great Lakes.
The combination of the Barn Owl’s eerie screaming call, its ghostly white color, and its roosting in church belfries gave rise to many superstitions associated with it. In English folklore the Barn Owl had a sinister reputation and poets Robert Blair and William Wordsworth considered it a “bird of doom”.
The Common Murre (COMU) is about 17” long with a wingspan of 26”. The genus name Uria (YOU-rih-ah) is from the Greek ourein, to dive. The species name aalge (AHL-geh) is the Scandinavian word for bird. The common name (MER) is of obscure European origin and may be related to marrot, local English dialect, for an auk, guillemot, or puffin.
The Western Meadowlark (WEME) is 9-1/2" long. The WEME has a yellow breast and belly with a black V-shaped breast band. Upper parts are dark brown with dusky edges. When the bird is flushed it shows a conspicuous patch of white on each side of a short tail and flies with several rapid wingbeats alternating with short glides.
