I realize that this post is somewhat off topic in that rather than being a bird report it is instead a question. (Now no need to E-mail me Mark please.) It had been my assumption up until today that most if not all icterid migrational habits were diurnal.
Given the sudden and dramatic appearance today across a broad front of huge numbers of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles , an overnight migration is hinted. Is anyone here knowledgeble as to whether or not these birds DO migrate nocturnally? As stated above I had always assumed (or perhaps more to the truth, had never really thought about it that much) that these species migrated exclusively during daylight hours and roosted overnight. And, if the answer to that question is "no", how can one account for the sudden appearance of these birds so suddenly this morning? Amazing really. In all my years of birding I don't ever recall seeing such an event as today. Usually these birds arrive somewhat less dramatically in dribs and drabs and not suddenly arriving en mass as if by magic. At least that's my experience wrong though it perhaps may be. Terry Osborne "Terry Osborne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
