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Saltmarsh feeding warblers in cold weather, Beaufort, NC
- To: "Carolinabirds" <carolinabirds@duke.edu>
- Subject: Saltmarsh feeding warblers in cold weather, Beaufort, NC
- From: "John Fussell" <jfuss@bmd.clis.com>
- Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 16:19:35 -0500
- Sender: carolinabirds-owner@acpub.duke.edu
Birds obviously have many strategies for coping with adverse weather.
During the recent rather intense cold weather last week, I saw at least 6
Palm Warblers and 2 Prairie Warblers feeding in salt marsh vegetation
(Spartina alterniflora) along the Morehead-Beaufort causeway.
Both the Palm and Prairie Warblers were seen gleaning food from the stems
and leaves of the Spartina grass, and the Palm Warblers also fed on mudlfats
recently exposed by the falling tide. I never saw the Prairie Warblers more
than a few feet from adjacent shrub thickets, but I saw Palm Warblers flying
100 yards or so out into the marshes during the falling tide. On one of the
coldest days, when the temp was about 35 in the middle of the day, I was
impressed with the mild microclimate that 2 Palm Warblers were taking
advantage of--feeding on a sunny mudflat protected from the north wind by a
dense cover of Spartina. They seemed to be feeding very successfully.
A lot of birders are aware that causeways and shrub thickets bordering
marshes can be good places to look for "lingering" birds. My experience
might suggest that during severe cold the best time to check low shrubs
bordering marshes would be at high tide.
John Fussell
Morehead City, NC
jfuss@bmd.clis.com