Autzoo.1562 net.rec.birds utzoo!andy Fri Apr 16 08:50:50 1982 Pileated and Arrivals As far as I know, Pileated Woodpeckers don't migrate--they don't even wander; they are pretty much sedentary. So, Bob, if you have more around this year (and they must have come from somewhere), perhaps there has been some change in habitat, more or less locally, that has either: a) attracted last year's young or b) driven birds out of some other area. That's my two cents, anyway. I have a pair behind my house (we live on the edge of a ravine heavily wooded with mature hardwoods) and haven't seen an increase in the 6 years I've been there. Here are some recent arrivals: Great Blue Heron (that was last Sunday, in the Kingston area), Common Loon, Cowbird (upstate New York, since about April 2), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Tree Swallow, Purple Martin, Osprey (also upstate N.Y.), Kildeer (since around the end of March), and Woodcock. Unusual sightings: Blue Goose and Forster's Tern. I spent the week before Easter in Saratoga Springs (New York) where I saw incredible numbers of Grosbeaks, Juncos, Redpolls, etc.-- the typical "winter" birds that "go back north" as soon as spring approaches. I didn't see many of these before my trip or after my return to Toronto. That made me wonder what "north" really means. Does anyone know if winter finches remain to breed in upstate New York? Is anybody going to Point Pelee in May? If so, I can report progress of the migration through there so you can make plans accordingly. Botanical note: Skunk Cabbage and Hepatica are up. Happy Birding! utzoo!andy ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.