When I have a day off, I like to grab my camera and binoculars and go birding. Whether it’s to take a few photos for SIB’s social media, or to look for new birds to add to my life list, birding, and bird photography, are my stress relief.
But when there are no birds, there are no bird photos! Where’d they go? There were several birds in the marsh yesterday, all the usuals flying over the pond, around the feeders… today there’s nothing!
Even after jumping in the car and riding to all my favorite spots around the island, I completely struck out. Why is that? Where are they? A fellow birder and photographer mentioned a similar disappointing search, so it’s not just my imagination.
This curiosity made me do a little research to see if there’s a simple answer. I quickly found out there’s not.
Bird migration is one reason why birds are here one day, gone the next. But we’ve been through fall migration and our summer birds left weeks ago, and most of our winter birds are already here.
Another article pointed to habitat loss and human disturbance. Both have decreased bird populations substantially, and it’s a disturbing trend. There are many articles online about this topic, but that’s not the answer in this situation either.
Then there were articles about the weather and how it can influence bird activity, especially when storms move through the area. Birds instinctively leave the area or tuck into the tree branches and wait it out. But today was a mild day, low 60s, a light breeze, some clouds but no rain. So scratch that off the list, too.
After striking out online, I decided to email one of our Seabrook Island Birders’ resident experts, Robert Mercer, and what he had to say made the most sense. This was his response:
“There are so many factors that govern when and where birds appear.
One reason birds may desert an area would be predators. When a hawk, owl, or other predator is around, the birds will not be as visible. The birds should return when the predator leaves.
For the marsh, a change in tide may mean the food is not accessible. No food available, no birds.
Elsewhere, foraging birds tend to drift from one location to another. I call it the Grass is Always Greener Syndrome. When it comes to natural food, each item consumed means it is no longer available, obviously. If a bird feeds heavily in one location, the available food diminishes, so the bird searches for a location with a larger supply of food—greener pastures. This also ensures that some food will be available as the season progresses.
At this time of the year, some songbirds form mixed species flocks. These flocks wander through the territory looking for food and avoiding predators. As a result, one can explore their favorite birding haunts and completely miss seeing birds until they run into the flock, and then you will see multiple species.“
After my research, and after reading Bob’s response, I think the “Grass is Always Greener Syndrome” comes the closest to explaining why I saw so many birds yesterday and hardly any today. It’s the most logical explanation, and I know the birds are still around, they’re just not where I was looking. It’s disappointing of course, but understandable, their top priority is survival. But you can bet I’ll be back out tomorrow, camera and binoculars in hand, looking for the birds.
Submitted by Gina Sanders