Dr. David Aborn

April 22, 2009

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

What better way to celebrate the Earth than by watching spring bird migration! For many of you, there is plenty to see.

The front that moved across the country at the end of last week, and over the weekend produced some more good fallouts. Many places along the Texas coast reported seeing 25-30 warbler species, and large numbers of Gray Catbirds and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. Some of the new species seen were Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Magnolia warbler, Swainson's Thrush, Gray-cheeked Thrush, and Yellow-billed cuckoo. People on the Mississippi coast reported large numbers of grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, Tennessee Warblers, and Baltimore Orioles.

Great Birding, Thanks to the Weather!
By Monday and Tuesday, winds had shifted to the south, and some of those birds, as well as birds I have been reporting on over the past week or two, have been able to make it farther north. At my study site yesterday, I saw my first Blue-winged Warblers, Wood Thrushes, Blackpoll Warblers, Northern Waterthrushes, Scarlet Tanagers, and Great-crested Flycatchers. People in
Massachusetts saw their first Blue-headed Vireos and Louisiana Waterthrushes, while several Common Yellowthroats have made it all the way up to Maine.

In the Midwest, birders in Ohio reported the greatest numbers of migrants,
including their first Prairie Warbler, Black-throated-green Warblers, House Wrens, Yellow-throated Vireos, and Scarlet Tanagers. For those of you living in the upper Midwest, you won't have to wait too long before the excitement reaches you, because swallows have returned to Michigan, House wrens and Least Flycatchers have come back to Minnesota.

Slow in the West
Out west, it has been slow. There have been southerly winds, which have allowed birds to arrive from the tropics and continue moving north. Arizona, New Mexico, and California have not reported anything new, but Nevada has had an assortment of flycatchers moving through, along with Rufus Hummingbirds, Bell's Vireos, and Bullock's Orioles. The weather has also allowed the first swallows (Barn and Tree) and Black-throated-gray Warblers to show up in Colorado.

What to Expect This Week
Will this week be another good one for fallouts? Probably not.