14 - 16 JUNE 1998. HAWAII:
SHOREBIRD GOLDEN PLOVERS: "This year seems to have more mid-June plovers
than I recall seeing in years past, particularly the large group I saw
yesterday. Possibly some El Nino effect resulting in early failed nests
in Alaska might produce larger numbers here in Hawaii. Just a thought.
We'll have to see if numbers continue to appear."-- Tom Snetsinger nukupuu@aloha.net
on Hawaiian Bird Hotline. AND-- If there are unusual numbers of Pacific
Golden Plovers (and possibly other shorebird species) in Hawaii this summer,
I think there are two possible climate-related explanations. 1. The winter
weather in Hawaii did not allow the shorebirds to fatten up properly and
many were not in good enough condition for the flight to Alaska. 2. The
spring weather in Alaska was bad, resulting in failed nesting and an early
return of breeding birds from the north. I think the first explanation
is most likely. There was a severe drought in Hawaii this winter, probably
related to El Nino. The drought may have reduced the populations of small
terrestrial arthropods that the shorebirds eat. I wouldn't be surprised
if many wintering shorebirds starved. Rainfall began to return to normal
this spring. Perhaps some birds were able to fatten up and leave later
than usual. As far as I know, the spring weather on the nesting grounds
in Alaska and Siberia has not been unusual. Climatological maps show near
normal temperatures and precipitation along the arctic coasts of Siberia
and Alaska and warmer than normal conditions in interior Alaska. I don't
know of any weather conditions on the nesting grounds that might have adversely
affected nesting success. I am a meteorologist, so I follow El Nino at
work, but anyone interested in El Nino can find lots of information on
the internet. The Honolulu Weather Service Forecast Office homepage has
several links to El Nino sites. The URL is http://www.nws.noaa.gov/pr/hnl/.
The University of Hawaii Meteorology homepage also has links to lots of
El Nino information. Their URL is http://lumahai.soest.hawaii.edu."--Pete
Donaldson Weatherbird@compuserve.com. AND- "There seems to be no question
that this last winter and spring has affected the seasonal and spatial
distribution of Pacific wintering shorebirds. On my last week's trip through
the islands I saw many more shorebirds than normal. The two species that
struck me as being seasonally numerous were Ruddy Turnstone (40% breeding
plumage) and Wandering Tattler (all breeding plumage). I saw only a handful
of Plovers (most in non-breeding plumage). The weather in Alaska has been
much warmer than normal, so conditions there do not seem to be limiting.
As for poor winter conditions, it would be hard to correlate food as a
limiting factor. Perhaps it has been the shift of the Pacific High Southward
as a result of El Nino and Southern Oscillation patterns, that has created
unfavorable wind conditions for migration. All these are speculative issues.
It would be interesting to look into the bird observation database to see
if these oversummer records can be correlated to El Nino events. In addition.
there has been an incredible phenomenom that may be related, that has occurred
on the West Coast as at least 6 Bristle-thighed Curlews have shown up on
the coast from Northern California through Washington. This spring movement
is a first, as the curlews were state records for CA, OR, and WA! Could
this be related?"-- Andy Engilis aengilis@ducks.org
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1997 El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO 97-98)