2023 Spring Weather Forecasts & Migrating Songbirds Report #3

Dear Journey North Readers,

Well, while it is still slower than I thought, migration is starting to pick up. Several days of clear skies and southerly winds have allowed migrants to make some progress. The big winners of the week were Florida and Alabama, which saw a large arrival of migrants over the past few days, including 15 species of warblers! Among the new arrivals were Black-throated-blue Warblers, Wood Thrushes, and Great Crested Flycatchers. Many of the swallows (Purple Martins, Tree Swallows, Northern Rough-winged Swallows) were able to make it up to Ohio and Illinois, and Blue-headed Vireos, Prothonotary Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and House Wrens are showing up in the Mid-Atlantic states (Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey).

There has been a lot of migration out west, With the first Western Kingbirds and Hammond’s Flycatchers arriving in California, and the first Bullock’s Orioles, Bell’s Vireos, and Lucy’s Warblers arriving in Arizona. In addition, more of the migrants that have been seen previously continued to arrive, such as Hooded Orioles and Black-headed Grosbeaks. As in the east, good flying conditions allowed migrants to make progress northward, with Hutton’s Vireos and Orange-crowned Warblers being seen in Oregon, and Lucy’s Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Black-chinned Hummingbirds, and several swallow species showing up in Nevada.

So how does the coming week look? Looking at the weather map, things look pretty good! Most of the country is experiencing clear skies and southerly winds, so migrants should continue arriving from the tropics and those that are here will be able to continue moving north. The only weather system on the horizon is in the Pacific Northwest, where a storm system is about to come on shore. This will bring rainy conditions to the Rocky Mountain area in the next day or so, the Midwest by the end of the week, and the East by the weekend. This is not a particularly strong system, so it shouldn’t keep birds grounded for long.

Things are getting exciting, so get out there and start looking! Take care.

Take care,

David Aborn

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

submitted 04/11/2023