OCTOBER “FIRST” AND “LAST”

By Leonard Weber

October, 2010

Birders tend to be record keepers. Since 1985, I have been recording the “first” Dark-eyed Junco that I see in our northwest Detroit neighborhood. Then I can quickly let someone know that I saw my “first” junco on October 8, 1988, then it was October 10, 1998 and October 4, 2008. This record keeping contributes, I think, to my knowledge of the migrating pattern of this fascinating and reliable winter visitor.

What I have been increasingly aware of over the years, however, is that I have no similar records of the “last” junco I see in the spring. I cannot tell you the date of my “last” junco sighting in any of the last 26 years. As a result, I don’t have the same sense of or connection to the junco’s spring migrating pattern.

It is, of course, much easier to note the “first” of the season than it is to note the “last.” When I see that “first” Dark-eyed Junco or the “first” Yellow-rumped Warbler in the spring (after months of not seeing them), I know it is the “first.” I don’t have to stop and wonder if I saw it previously. I can immediately record the date. When I see a junco in April or a Yellow-rumped Warbler in late October, however, I don’t know if it is the “last” of the season. I may see one again the next day or in a few days. We only know we have seen the “last” after the fact, when we look back.

On my birding visits to Eliza Howell Park in the fall of 2008 and again in 2010, I regularly saw several Wood Ducks at a bend in the river. In 2008, I was still seeing them at that location on October 19. When I didn’t see them on my next visit on October 22, I thought that they may have moved on, but I didn‘t know for sure. It was only after no sightings on subsequent visits (Oct. 26 and Oct. 30) that I felt pretty sure that Wood Ducks were gone for the year and that the date of the “last” for 2008 was Oct. 19. In 2010, the date of the “last” Wood Duck was October 17.

It is only because I bird Eliza Howell regularly and keep records of what I see on each occasion that I am now beginning to become aware of the “last” of the season, even though I don’t know it in the field that day.

My personal list of birds of special interest includes several that I expect to see for the “first” time in October: American Tree Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Purple Finch and Dark-eyed Junco. And there are several that I expect to see for the “last” time of the year this month: Eastern Phoebe, Gray Catbird, Orange-crowned Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo and Wood Duck. In October 2008, and again in 2010, I found myself particularly focused on “last” and “first.”

Every year as the end of September approaches, I begin to wonder how much longer the Gray Catbird will be around. I know that soon after September becomes October, it will be gone. For this very common September bird, the departure always seems to be sudden because I have gotten so used to seeing several on every visit. While I never know, for example, which migrating warblers I might see on a September walk in the park, I do know that I will have an opportunity to watch and listen to catbirds as they move around the thickets and forage for berries. I sometimes wonder how many migrating warblers the catbirds have seen that I have missed. Until the last three years, however, I had not examined my records to see exactly when I saw the “last” of the season. In 2008, it was on October 5. In 2009, it was October 8 and in 2010, it was October 6. Catbirds are around for about five months, when they are suddenly gone.

The “first” and the “last” Purple Finch and Fox Sparrow are much closer together. The “first” is typically in October and the “last” in November. There is something special to me about these two migrants. In recent years, I have seen more of them than ever before, either because they have become more common or because I am getting better at knowing where and when to find them. They always grab my attention and seeing both on a birding walk is always a treat. Seeing several of each on the same day is a special treat. Part of the excitement is, no doubt, the fact they, like other migrants that breed to the north, are only around Detroit briefly twice a year. An additional part of the attraction to me is that they are late migrants. As the number of songbird species fall with the falling leaves, the Fox Sparrow and the Purple Finch make my birding days rewarding. It helps, of course, that they are strikingly lovely to look at any time of the year.

I saw my “first” Fox Sparrow in the fall, October 19, 2008. In 2009, it was October 25; in 2010, October 24. For the Purple Finch, the dates were October 19, October 10, and October 13. Since both species still tend to be in the area at the end of October, it will take a look back at the records of November visits to identify the dates when I saw the “last” of each.

Some might call this attention to seasonal “first” and “last” a phenological approach, phenology being the study of the times of recurring natural events. Whatever it is called, I think it is an approach which has made my birding more enjoyable and is contributing to my being a more informed lover of nature.