Migration starting to pick up

Dear Journey North Readers,

After a slow week last week, migration is starting to pick up! There have been southerly winds for a good portion of the country, which has allowed for an influx of migrant in many places. 

The big winner this week was Georgia, where birders recorded both Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Summer Tanagers, Yellow warblers, Prothonotary Warblers, Prairie Warblers, Ovenbirds, and Red-eyed Vireos. Here in Chattanooga, I have seen my first Ovenbird and Chimney Swifts of the season. The strong southerly winds helped push Purple Martins into Ohio, Tree Swallows into Illinois, and a Louisiana Waterthrush up to New York. Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows, Common Yellowthroats, and White-eyed Vireos, showed up in Oklahoma. There was also a lot of migratory activity out west, with Wilson’s Warblers, Lucy’s Warblers, Scott’s Orioles, and Cassin’s Kingbirds being seen in Arizona, and Black-headed Grosbeaks, Western Kingbirds, and Warbling Vireos making their first appearances in California.

This week looks like it might be different. If you look at the weather map you will see a cold front moving across the center of the country. It is a potent front, with strong north winds behind it. The storms, and even snow(!!!) will keep a lot of migrants grounded, and because it is a fairly slow moving front. They may be grounded for a few days. Ahead of the front, the strong southerly winds in the East will continue (we will be near 90 in Tennessee on Friday!), allowing migrants to continue arriving from the tropics, and allowing birds that are already here to keep moving north. 

That front is expected to enter the Eastern US by later in the weekend, at which time the storms and north winds force birds to land for a few days. Farther west, the winds have shifted back to the south, which will again allow migrating birds to come in from the tropics and continue moving north.

We are still early in the migration season, so there is still a lot of activity to come, but birds are on the move, so get out there and start looking! Take care.

David Aborn

Chattanooga, TN