All of my running around twitching the Reef-Heron has put me well behind in the work department, so today is a day of catching up. That includes some recent noteworthy articles that I wanted to mention.

While some people in the north welcome the effects of global warming, the feathered denizens most certainly do not. Here’s a fascinating article on how the winter caches of Gray Jays are spoiling due to warmer winters, and causing their population to decline.

And today, there was this article about tropical fish sightings in Rhode Island. The shift in the Gulf Stream that it mentions may have been part of the cause of this summer’s influx of rare southern terns.

Meanwhile, at least there’s some good news out there! In the Adirondacks of New York, a deal has been reached to benefit skiers, birders, and especially the Bicknell’s Thrush. This may be a model of cooperation that Maine should look at.

Bird-wise, I spent a little time this morning at the local patch: Hedgehog Mountain Park (all of a 1 mile drive from the house, which was rather pleasant). A small number of warblers were around, including an early Blackpoll Warbler. Also, a Hooded Merganser had dropped into the small pond there, a welcome addition to my Patch List (#114 for those keeping score at home). Meanwhile, in the backyard, another small flock of migrant warblers were passing through, so clearly warblers are really on the move now!

And, despite “Reefer Madness,” you can rest assured that I have not neglected our Monarch caterpillars. Jeannette and I have still been stopping off each ay on our way home to cut more milkweed stalks for the “family.” Now, it seems that all of the caterpillars have finally left the milkweed for metamorphosis. As of yesterday evening, I had located 7 chrysalis, 6 additional chrysalises have successfully opened, while 4 chrysalis and/or metamorphosing caterpillars were found dead. With a peak of 44 caterpillars tallied, there’s no doubt more chrysalises in the garden!

And, last but definitely not least, if you were one of the hundreds of folks who went to Kittery (not New Castle, etc) to look for the Western Reef-Heron, I ask for a couple of minutes of your time to respond to a brief survey that I have put together to analyze the local economic benefit from the bird, and the birders that came to see it. The survey is on our website. I look forward to the responses.