I’m sad for every casualty, but folks who know me know that there is a special place in my heart for the Pinnacle of Avian Evolution, the Louisiana Waterthrush. Today, not one but two of these splendid creatures met an untimely end in the southwestern alcove of the Noble Research Center.
I moved them off the sidewalk and into the nearby lawn as a removal trial. Both were evidently AHY-U.
My sadness, of course, is tempered by my scientific curiosity. Louisiana Waterthrushes are rarely encountered in passage. The routes and timing of their travels are largely presumed but seldom confirmed, and this is confirmation of both. Whenever two individuals are found at a window, it is tantalizing to consider that they were traveling together, perhaps “chip”ping every few minutes to stay in contact. If so, were these a mated pair? Siblings? From the same neighborhood? Did they leave from the same area or meet up somewhere along the way? Was this an agonistic encounter, with one chasing the other? Were they even together? Perhaps they hit the window hours apart, and were not traveling together but just using the same route?
With every observation, the follow-up intrigues.
Bird-Window Collisions at OK State 