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Do Migratory Birds Fly In Clouds - And at Night.

To: <>, <>
Subject: Do Migratory Birds Fly In Clouds - And at Night.
From: <>
Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2012 14:49:41 +1100
Hi all, 

Where I live in north Qld, Noisy pittas and Brown quails can occasionally be 
heard flying over at night - migrating I think. I usually hear them when I am 
out spotlighting for geckos on moonless, or nearly so, nights. 

Cheers, 

Eric Vanderduys
Technical Officer
CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences
Phone: +61 7 4753 8529 | Fax: +61 7 4753 8600 | Mobile: 0437 330 961 
 | www.csiro.au | 
www.csiro.au/people/Eric.Vanderduys.html 
Address: CSIRO, PMB PO, Aitkenvale, Qld 4814. Deliveries: CSIRO, ATSIP, Bld 145 
James Cook Drive, James Cook University Douglas Campus, Townsville Qld 4814, 
AUSTRALIA 

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-----Original Message-----
From:  
 On Behalf Of John Wright
Sent: Friday, 26 October 2012 12:08 AM
To: Philip Veerman
Cc: ; Chris Shaw
Subject: Do Migratory Birds Fly In Clouds - And at Night.

Philip, these are observations from people who are constantly looking for 
migrants all along the western coast of Japan during the whole of the spring 
and autumn migration seasons. They are searching the areas below lighthouses, 
small offshore islands, etc. and notice that on days following a full moon, 
there are many more migrants to be found in the mornings at such landing spots 
- birds that are usually exhausted from flying all night. Therefore, these 
observations seem a lot more accurate than a survey method that tries to spot 
birds as they are flying in the night sky.

John

On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 8:11 PM, Philip Veerman <> wrote:
> May well be true. Then again, if people are out looking for them at 
> night in all kinds of conditions, people are going to detect more of 
> them on clear, full moon nights. Indeed counting birds eclipsing the 
> full moon as they fly past at night, is one survey method.
>
> Philip
>
> -----Original Message-----From: 
> 
>  On Behalf Of John 
> Wright
> Sent: Thursday, 25 October 2012 9:24 PM To: Chris Shaw  Cc:
>        Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Do Migratory
> Birds Fly In Clouds - And at Night.
>
>
> I heard an interesting story from some experienced birders in Japan 
> that birds tend to migrate with the full moon, and therefore the days 
> following a full moon are the best time to look for them at migration 
> hotspots such as headlands and offshore islands. I suppose this 
> correlates with the theory that birds prefer a bright night if they 
> are flying through the darkness. Of course, in adverse weather 
> conditions they will remain at a location and rest and feed while 
> waiting for favourable conditions. And around a new moon perhaps they fly 
> through the day rather than night.....
>
> John
>
> www.johnandrewwright.com
>
> On Thu, Oct 25, 2012 at 5:32 PM, Chris Shaw 
> <>
> wrote:
>> Hi All
>>
>> I guess they have to fly at night but what do they do when its really 
>> really dark or there are clouds in the way or both. I find migration 
>> fascinating and so have gone on a bit on my blog "Top Birds & 
>> Everyfing" about the problems birds face with night and cloud. I've 
>> also posted some links to earlier posts on bird navigation because 
>> it's also part of the general subject. You may or may not find some 
>> alternative opinion interesting. Grab a beer, cuppa, cafe or a dram 
>> and have a read if you've got the time or inclination.
>>
>> http://topbirdsandeveryfing.typepad.com/top-birds-everyfing/
>>
>> is the link.
>>
>> Chris Shaw
>> 
>> Mobile 0409 675912
>>
>> My blog - "Top Birds and Everyfing" can be found on the following 
>> link
>>
>> http://topbirdsandeveryfing.typepad.com/top-birds-everyfing/
>>
>> It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is from the top.
>>
>> - Arnold Bennett
>
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