For the Birds
Season 2026
For the Birds on Amherst Island Radio - 14 Sept 2026
by Anthony Kaduck
Anthony Kaduck and this week’s co-host Richard Lott talk about what’s being seen in the area, this year’s (so far disappointing) autumn migration, what’s being seen at the hawkwatches, where have all the raptors gone?, chick mortality in the Purple Martin colony on Amherst Island, great woodpeckers we have seen, and a lot of general chat about birds and birding.
This episode, first aired on 7 September 2026, starts off with the usual roundup of bird activity in the local area. We then segue into a short feature on one of my favourite shorebirds, Baird's Sandpiper, which is currently passing through on its way to Tierra del Fuego. Birders know that the Empidonax flycatchers, especially Willow and Alder Flycatchers, are tricky to identify. On this show we will introduce the "other" tricky flycatchers that belong to the genus Myiarchus. We then delve into the odd history of a question that plagued the minds and raised the tempers of ornithologists for 100 years: do Turkey Vultures use the nostrils to find their carrion prey?