The End of the Gnatcatcher Days

On the eve of the last day in September, there's a hint of seasonal change in the air. The air's relatively cool, a steady breeze is sneaking around, and a few migrants are feeding up in the backyard. I'm not ready to claim that the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness has arrived; a quick look at the 10 day forecast puts that dream back to sleep. Still, with October barely 24 hours away, there's no denying that we're coming to the end of the Gnatcatcher Days.

I happen to like August and September birding. I've been down to the coast probably every weekend in the past two months and I can only think of two or three birdwatchers I've even crossed paths with. During the same span I have crossed paths with some pretty good birding days. In the woods I've seen a handful of Olive-sided Flycatchers, Mourning Warblers, and Bell's Vireos, and a couple dozen Yellow-bellied Flycatchers and Traill's Flycatchers. The beach has produced a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a couple of California Gulls, and some nice shorebirds. Inland, there's been good kingbird and scissor-tail action and good looks at every swallow on the state list. But the bird that's really emblematic of the dog days this year and every year is the tiny Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. These winged mice have been constant companions no matter what habitat I've birded in, and they haven't been shy about letting their presence be known. In August and September in Southwestern Louisiana, you're never far from a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. These are the Gnatcatcher Days.

We're lucky to have Blue-gray Gnatcatchers year round. They nest across most of the United States in summer, and while they winter well down into Central America, southern Louisiana is at the northern edge of their wide winter range. In transit they pass through in both spring and late summer, but they're most obvious at the latter time of year when they can be seen flitting over just above treetop level in the early hours of daylight. At this time, every woodlot and patch of scrub seems to have one--or many. Their curiosity draws them to check out everything that moves and makes them easy to find. Despite their minute size, they become the most conspicuous bird out there for a few long, hot weeks.

Soon--in a few days actually--gnatcatchers will give up their long run on center stage. Another huge wave of migrants, the birds that most birders think of as fall migrants (warblers, thrushes, catbirds, you name it) will swamp the gnatcatchers that are still with us. As a matter of fact, as I type this note, a new horde is building up, preparing to invade. Even though the temps will still be in the 80s then, we are now just a little over a week away from perhaps the most glorious day of fall, Indigo Bunting Day.