I had thought we had seen the last of winter weeks ago, and temperatures in the 50s to near 80 degrees over the last many weeks was the norm. Migration was really starting to crank up in PA with many species of warblers arriving, orioles and grosbeaks showing up and some hummers making an appearance. All the fruit trees in Somerset County were in full bloom and the last thing on my mind was snow… Then I heard the forecast 6-8 inches… What!?! Well the 6-8″ slowly increased to 10-12″ in the forecast. Well, once I realized that this was really going to hit us, we quickly prepared by making sure all the feeders were stocked, and that extra suet and orange slices were out for the warblers and orioles that had just arrived. On Sunday night (4/22) around 11pm the snow started.
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Regional Overview [dc]I[/dc]t was another night of little to no migration in the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic. Brisk winds from the WNW and snow and rain shows drifting across PA and NY from the north gave birds little motivation to migrate. Pennsylvania Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation. Precipitation dominated over central PA but eastern and southwest parts of the state saw some clearer skies. It appears that there may have been some birds moving at the two ends of the state. It may be interesting to see what birding conditions are like in Mercer, Butler and Clarion where the edge of the storm lingered all night. Birds that were migrating could have put down as they hit this band of precipitation. As always, please leave me comments on what you find out in the field. Maryland Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
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I’ll be posting another “What’s in the Box?” shortly, but for now, enjoy these photos of a Sandhill Crane family that I took up the road from my house. This pair nested in a nearby wetland, and they now stroll the neighborhood with 2 large chicks in tow.
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Regional Overview BAM! It finally happened, a decent night of migration across the entire southeast into the Mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley. Winds were light and from the south the entire night, excellent conditions for migration. This is the heaviest migration we have seen since April 16th so there were a lot of birds bottled up, waiting to arrive. Many of you who noticed scattered reports of many migrants but no big influx, this should have changed overnight. This is still a bit early in the season for many Neotropical migrants, so there likely won’t be high concentrations or variety at many spots, but as a whole, the region should be finding a good variety of species. Pennsylvania Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation.
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Drew, Josh, and I birded a few places this morning and saw a handful of new spring migrants. Despite the rain, our morning was very productive and fun! Click on the links below to see our eBird checklist for that location. Blue Jay - Slab Cabin Park (Photo by Alex Lamoreaux) We stopped at Julian Wetlands first thing this morning and had 32 species there. A Bank Swallow was perched on the wires with Tree, Barn, and Northern Rough-winged Swallows and was a new county year bird for me! There was also a single Cliff Swallow present. Lederer Park had a Black-and-white Warbler and a Black-throated Green Warbler. Both were males that we saw and heard singing. We also had a Least Flycatcher near the parking area. Nearby Walnut Springs was quiet and we only birded there briefly. Slab Cabin Park had a singing male Nashville Warbler.
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[dc]T[/dc]his year, several current and former Penn State students decided to compete in the Birding Cup, the annual birding contest run by Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center as a fundraiser for their environmental education programs. This will be the first year that Alex, Nate, Josh or Drew have competed while Ian competed for the first time last year. We are hoping that some of our faithful readers will help us raise money for this great cause! Drew Weber Alex Lamoreaux Nate Fronk Ian Gardner Josh Lefever We are shooting for 150 species this year, a lofty goal but we are hoping that our familiarity with the region will give us the edge we need to find lots of birds.
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Regional Overview North winds dominated all last night preventing migration across the region, except right along the coast early in the night. The low pressure system moved through NJ late enough last night to allow birds to migrate before moving through. The next few nights will likely be slow as north winds continue and possible winter storms move through the region. Pennsylvania Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation. The north winds shut everything down across the state. Expect no real turnover in species. However, there are already lots of birds in the region; they will likely be moving around to find the best foraging areas if they are passing through or returning to breeding grounds. Check places with abundant blooming trees to find warblers foraging for insects. As always, please leave me comments on what you find out in the field.
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Regional Overview The big snow storm of April pretty much stalled out all migration across the region. Expect little to no turnover, however the storms have force some late ducks as well as gulls and terns down to lakes and reservoirs. Check out the radar animations below if you are interested. Wednesday night will probably be the next big push of migrants as winds swing south. Pennsylvania Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation. As always, please leave me comments on what you find out in the field. Maryland Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation. New York Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation. Ohio Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation. Check Kenn Kaufman’s blog for more specifics on what to expect this time of year.
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This morning Mike Dreibelbis and David F. Ryan found two American Bitterns foraging at Scotia Pond. I was out at Bald Eagle State Park, but made a stop by Scotia on my way home and was able to get two decent photos of one of the bitterns in flight.
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Regional Overview South winds dominated across most of the region, touching off another night of moderate migration. A low pressure system is pushing through the area and reached as far east as the western edge of PA last night. I think there is great potential for fallout conditions from this front, particularly in places where it passed through after midnight. Pennsylvania Click on the thumbnail to view the full-sized animation. The radar was alive with migrants across the state, both on the State College and Pittsburgh radars. Velocity radar showed movement to the NNE the entire night at appropriate speeds to indicate birds. With the entire east coast experiencing these good migration conditions, expect a fair amount of turnover. Many of the warbler species should now be somewhere in the state, although still at low numbers.
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