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Weather and Songbird Migration April 29, 1998 Dear Students: We finally had a fallout here in central Texas. A cold front moved through Sunday night (4/26). The winds behind it were from the north, but not very strong, only 5-10 mph. What made the difference was that the front moved slowly. It rained very heavily Sunday night and continued for most of Monday (4/27). All the rain and clouds meant birds couldn't fly and were forced to land. On Tuesday (4/28) here in Waco, Texas, I saw lots of Nashville Warblers, and also the first Least Flycatchers and Swainson's Thrushes. Still no orioles here in Waco. Austin and Dallas areas both reported good numbers of these species, along with other later season migrants, such as Bay-breasted and Chestnut-sided Warblers. On the Texas coast, they saw 25 warbler species in just 2 hours! Even as far north as Illinois they reported fallout conditions on Tuesday, with sightings of 7 warbler species, 3 vireo species, thrushes, buntings, flycatchers, and--orioles. The winds today (4/29) are from the south and skies are clear, so most of the birds should leave tonight. The front is over the Ohio Valley and Southeast and is bringing rain to those areas. They should expect good numbers of birds tomorrow, and by the weekend the East coast should see a fallout. It doesn't look like there are any fronts moving in for a while. With good flying weather around here, birds are mostly just going to pass over. I'll still keep my eyes and ears open. You never know what will show up! Take care, David Dr. David A. Aborn david_aborn@baylor.edu Background Information See Primer: "Weather and Songbird Migration"