Migrant birds make an extremely perilous journey, twice per 12 months. How’s that for an understatement of the plain? The equation appears unimaginable. On the breeding grounds of the north, a small chicken flies into the night time, takes a bearing for the south, positive factors altitude and flies onward. Flap, flap, glide. A couple of flaps and a glide, giving flight calls from time to time maybe to remain in contact with the opposite birds transferring via the darkish early autumn skies. They chase the summer season, stick with it as they head south nevertheless it’s no easy-going trip.
Throughout this unimaginable DIY survival journey, patches of sunshine tempt the small chicken to a deadly, unnatural finish. If it avoids the temptation, it eliminates the prospect of smashing into a mirrored image and dying on the concrete of any variety of cities. Let’s say it does and retains going south. Every day, the small chicken then has to fly down and discover a resting place, an space to feed and take shelter. Hopefully, it has picked a route with sufficient habitat to maintain it going. Hopefully, it may possibly keep away from loss of life on wings; the Cooper’s Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks searching for their very own meals. If on that route, there are too many open areas, it might extra simply make a mistake, fly throughout a gap and discover itself greeted by an Accipiter or speedy Merlin. If it doesn’t discover sufficient to eat, it’d change into too drained to look at for predators and be snatched up by a home cat or any variety of animals which might be at all times watching, eternally ready for a simple lunch.
Because the chicken reaches the hotter, extra humid air of tropical locations, the peril from predators contains related chicken consuming raptors together with numerous arboreal snakes. If it may possibly keep away from touchdown in pesticide laden pineapple fields (the place I’ve heard of employees sweeping up birds which have succumbed to the poisons), it simply may make it to wintering territory. If the chicken is fortunate, the forest or second progress from the earlier 12 months continues to be there. If its luck has run out, that valuable habitat may have been destroyed, transformed into pasture or crops or housing and the chicken might want to discover one other place to spend the winter, and quick.
If it finds a great spot to outlive for a number of months, a spot with sufficient meals and shelter, it’d be capable to fly all the best way again to the north for an additional summer season of music and nesting. Nonetheless, to make it that far, the small chicken nonetheless must keep away from predators, different issues at all times looking ahead to a misstep, at all times ready for his or her probability. They don’t must be skilled chicken killers both, predators solely must be in the fitting place on the proper time. In Costa Rica, they will take the type of all the things from toucans (suppose crows with big shark impressed beaks) to herons and monkeys.
If introduced with the chance, there’s different issues that might eat a chicken too. On a current go to to “Cope’s Place”, a neighborhood birding hotspot, I discovered that a kind of issues generally is a Marine Toad.
I suppose it’s no large shock, Marine Toads can get as large as a small quail and they’re going to principally eat no matter they will match of their mouth. Smaller frogs and toads, mice, bugs, worms, pet food, and carrion, you identify it. Birds too, if they will catch them. If Wooden Thrush hasn’t been documented as Cane Toad prey, it may possibly now be added to the checklist.
Cope’s” is a chicken oasis with a water characteristic surrounded by tropical vegetation. It was created by Jose (aka Cope), a gifted, salf-taught Costa Rican artist and naturalist who lives within the Caribbean lowlands of his birdy nation. Jose’s deep information of rainforest wildlife and ecology is mirrored in his detailed work of Spectacled Owls, Ornate Hawk-Eagles, and different jungle wildlife. It’s notable that in his 40 plus years of watching native wildlife, he had by no means seen a Marine Toad catch a chicken. It’s in all probability a uncommon occasion however then once more, how many individuals are witness to the biodynamic happenings of the tropical forest understory? Depredation occurs without warning and in a flash. In tropical locations the place layers of life are in fixed competitors, it occurs on a regular basis.
By probability, on October 22, I occurred to be in simply the fitting place on the proper time. Together with two shoppers, whereas calmly having fun with a implausible pure present of two oropendola species, wood-rails, different birds, and the miniature antics of an American Pygmy-Kingfisher,
the overall calm was disrupted by the distinct screeches and alarm calls of small birds. Focusing in on a flurry of exercise from the opposite aspect of the water characteristic, I might make out a chicken desperately flapping its wings as Clay-colored Thrushes and Scarlet-rumped Tanagers raised their voices in alarm. Wanting nearer, I might see a white stomach with darkish spots and a few russet plumage. Little doubt about it, a Wooden Thrush and one thing has caught it! Anticipating to see a snake, I used to be confused to search out myself taking a look at a big darkish eye and mouth greedy the poor chicken. It was within the shadows and was laborious to make out however then I noticed a webbed foot. Not a snake! Creature from the Black Lagoon? Nearly; it was a big, dark-colored Marine Toad!
The flurry of exercise grew to become hidden by foliage and I finished listening to the screeches of the thrush. Cope had been inside making us some espresso (nothing like watching birds and ingesting espresso in Costa Rica). Upon telling him what occurred, he puzzled if it might need been a Central American Bull Frog as that enormous opportunistic amphibian is equally able to consuming something it may possibly match into its moist maw. He talked about how, rising up, locals talked about dropping small chickens to these frogs however by no means to toads. He additionally talked about how one other opportunist, the Russet-naped Wooden-Rail would come and take the prey from the amphibian. The rails did certainly come to research however got here up empty-beaked.
Giving in to his innate need to research pure happenings, Cope went to the opposite aspect of the characteristic to shed some mild on the state of affairs. He didn’t discover the chicken however did see proof of its demise; a path of white feathers from the spot the place the toad had caught it after which main right down to a muddy lair in some roots the place it should have eaten it. Wanting additional, he ultimately discovered the toad. Though it appeared large to me, he mentioned they get a lot greater and was shocked this “smaller” one was capable of catch the thrush.
Cope talked about how that thrush had solely been there for a pair weeks and that it was extremely tame, that it hopped on the paths with no care on this planet. One can’t assist however marvel if it misplaced its life due to that carefree angle. May the toad have seen the thrush days earlier than then and stored an eye fixed on it? All we will say is that it noticed its probability and took it. The place had the unlucky chicken spent the summer season? Had birders and hikers heard its ethereal music in deciduous forests of southern Illinois? Was it a younger, inexperienced chicken that grew up within the moist woods behind some subdivision in Ohio? All we will say is that it was a Wooden Thrush that managed to outlive the unimaginable journey south to Costa Rica however couldn’t escape the pounce of a Marine Toad. It’s a reminder that the lifetime of a migrant chicken is perilous, irrespective of the place it spends the winter.
All photos on this publish had been taken by Joel Rosenthal except in any other case famous.
