In the frenetic period leading up to the federal election, the editor must have been run off his feet, attempting to cover all the events surrounding All Buffleheads Day.
So he may be excused for not quite getting the facts straight, around the legendary punctuality of the Bufflehead.
That is day 298 of the earth’s cycle, as measured from solstice. That means they return every 365.25 days — not 298 as the so-called guru is quoted. Day 298 is a remarkable constant, but day 297 is every bit as remarkable because the Buffleheads have never appeared on that day.
It is a peer-reviewed scientific fact based on close observation of Roberts Bay for 17 different seasons. With a narrow statistical variation that makes it an uncontested world record. Far more reliable than the alas-mythical swallows of San Juan Capistrano in California ( not Italy as indicated). Sadly, these swallows no longer even appear in spring, because like many aerial insectivorous species, their populations have declined precipitously.
And as for Groundhogs Day and Wiarton Willie — well, we have the real thing, a real bellwether of autumn storms and the oscillations of planetary Rossby waves that guide them.
J. K. Finley, Sidney