September 19, 2009
This is a wonderful time of year. The night sky is so clear, so crisp, the planets and stars such brilliant points of light, creating a timeless mosaic, that the sky is the stuff of dreams.
Sunrises and sunsets are prolonged, colorful and not to be missed. Bird migration is under way and at full throttle, so that even people not normally inclined to notice avian creatures have close encounters of the bird kind. Every day, every night at this season is a special gift that can not be replaced and begs not to be missed.
For thousands, the annual fishing derbies on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket are the highlight of their year. They plan, save, plot then participate in these events, which are about not only fishing but so much more. They relish the chance to be out, along the shore or on the water during the day, after dark, at sunrise or sunset, and observe all that is going on in the natural world.
Each year, I get more calls and e-mails from derby fishermen and women who, by their love of being out in nature, find themselves observing more and more of it.
No matter what one is doing in the natural world, there is meaning and wonder to be drawn from it. In this day and age when multi-tasking and networking are the buzzwords in various business settings, in an entirely different way, this is what we all do, out in the real world, the natural world.
Whether wetting a line, walking in a favorite place or hanging out in the yard, there are many things to see, hear and enjoy. For many nature lovers — surely I am one of the afflicted — it all has to do with bird life.
A recent evening was clear and magnificent, lending itself to lying outside and gazing at the night sky. While waxing philosophical in my mind, checking out the little dipper, Mars and the rings of Saturn, eight satellites and a few meteors, I was listening to the flight calls of small, mainly insectivorous birds passing overhead.
It was not a big flight but still it impressed some deeply recessed part of my brain, that up in that black, mysterious night sky, birds weighing less than an ounce were undertaking a spectacular, seemingly impossible journey, as a normal, routine part of their existence. This is what they do, superbly.
Derby participants have a rare chance to enjoy not only our finny brethren in the waters but to be out at the peak time for bird migration in this part of the world. By paying attention to the birds that point the way to game fish by pinpointing baitfish that are driven to the surface, fisherman get to see all sorts of bird life.
Wayward land birds that have overshot land and are flying back to the south shore are often seen. Some have even alighted briefly on the ends of fishing rods, grateful for the perch after a full night and some of the day of flying over hostile ocean waters affording no refuge.
Falcons are on the move. The crow-sized peregrine falcon and the smaller merlin are hard to miss right now if one is along virtually any shoreline.The merlins are a favorite as these small, speedy falcons have an attitude and can not resist the temptation to harass other larger birds in the area. Merlins are like small fighter jets: They fly fast, go from ground hugging direct flight to vertical climbs and ridiculous dive-bombing, all the while seeing far better (up to 10 times better) than human eyesight.
Aside from how much fun it is to watch these little rocket ships fly, they cover so much airspace and see so well that they will point the way to other raptors if one stays with them, in the binoculars, which is the only way possible.
A few hours spent on the beach anywhere on the Cape and Islands, from now through the end of many various fishing derbies, offers not only the opportunity but a great probability of seeing one of the natural world's most spectacular flying life forms in the shape of a migratory falcon. They are unforgettable, and no matter how many times one has seen them before, they are thrilling to watch.
The season is changing rapidly and insectivorous birds, warblers, flycatchers and vireos will soon start to decline as most will be south of us heading to the tropics for the winter.
Over the coming weeks, seedeaters such as sparrows and finches should appear as well as loons and waterfowl that arrive to either continue further south or spend the winter. There is action all around and almost any bird is possible, at least I like to think the sky is the limit at the end of September.
Until next week — keep your eyes to the sky!
E. Vernon Laux's birding column appears every Saturday in the Cape Cod Times. Laux is the resident naturalist for the Linda Loring Nature Foundation on Nantucket. You can also hear him on "The Point" with Mindy Todd at 9:30 a.m. the first Monday of the month on the Cape's NPR station, WCAI, 90.1. He can be reached at
vlaux@llnf.org.
