Regional Migration Analysis: 30 September – 6 October 2017
Andrew FarnsworthThe Cornell LabOct 06, 2017
Golden-crowned Kinglet. Joe Wing/Macaulay Library. eBird S39495328.
Continental Summary
Moderate flights that featured Snow Goose, Greater Scaup, Eared Grebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, and Golden-crowned Sparrow were the norm in many areas of the West this week, while several pulses of heavy flights occurred in the East and featured Ruddy Duck, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rusty Blackbird, Fox Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Harris’s Sparrow, and Purple Finch.
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Moderate to heavy flights spread across the region on Friday and Saturday nights, first in the Great Lakes and Ohio River Valley, then in the Appalachians and portions of the coastal plain. By Sunday and Monday flights were significantly less intense and restricted almost exclusively to coastal locations. With the arrival of a new frontal system through the western Great Lakes, moderate to very heavy flights also arrived in the Upper Mississippi River Valley on Tuesday night. These movements spread to the east on Wednesday night as the front bowed across the northern tier states. By Thursday night as the front dissociated, a patchwork of light to locally heavy movements and precipitation occurred across the region. Note that where skies were clear to the north and west of the region, some very heavy movements occurred.
Top Movers
Increasing
Species
Increase from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Golden-crowned Kinglet
86%
13.6
Yellow-rumped Warbler
67%
28
White-crowned Sparrow
101%
9
Swamp Sparrow
63%
14.8
Hermit Thrush
120%
4.3
White-throated Sparrow
53%
23.5
Ruddy Duck
166%
2.3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
47%
23.9
Dark-eyed Junco
80%
6.4
Rusty Blackbird
114%
2.3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
53%
11.7
Red-winged Blackbird
34%
20.7
Song Sparrow
24%
36.4
Winter Wren
65%
3.7
Brown Creeper
58%
4.5
Fox Sparrow
171%
0.9
Lincoln's Sparrow
34%
7.2
House Finch
18%
21.8
Ring-necked Duck
91%
1
American Wigeon
63%
2.6
Savannah Sparrow
26%
8.8
Brown-headed Cowbird
36%
4.2
American Robin
11%
46.1
Nelson's Sparrow
74%
1
American Tree Sparrow
218%
0.1
Decreasing
Species
Decrease from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
American Redstart
-57%
4.3
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
-59%
2.1
Black-and-white Warbler
-54%
3.3
Green Heron
-70%
0.9
Broad-winged Hawk
-65%
1
Philadelphia Vireo
-71%
0.6
Chestnut-sided Warbler
-77%
0.6
Magnolia Warbler
-44%
5.6
Eastern Wood-Pewee
-50%
3.4
Red-eyed Vireo
-46%
4.6
Yellow-throated Vireo
-89%
0.1
Northern Parula
-40%
4.9
Wilson's Warbler
-78%
0.3
Scarlet Tanager
-49%
2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
-48%
2.5
Common Tern
-68%
0.5
Swainson's Thrush
-34%
4.4
Bay-breasted Warbler
-50%
1.4
Gray Catbird
-16%
30.9
Osprey
-32%
5.1
Blackpoll Warbler
-37%
2.9
Brown Thrasher
-31%
4.1
House Wren
-20%
8.9
Nashville Warbler
-27%
4.4
Blackburnian Warbler
-63%
0.5
Marsh Wren. Martin Wall/Macaulay Library. eBird S39579244.
Gulf Coast and Southeast
Moderate to very heavy flights graced the region for the weekend, becoming gradually less intense and significantly less extensive by Sunday night. By the beginning of the work week, most movement occurred to the east of the Mississippi River, though some of these flights were locally heavy. Tuesday saw a gradual increase in the extent of flights, with similarly intense movements in the southeast but new moderate to locally heavy flights in Texas. This increase continued through the remainder of the period, as moderate and locally heavy flights became more widespread.
A slow start to the weekend saw locally light and moderate movements on the eastern and western fringes of the region. But more intense flights arrive on Sunday night with the passage of a significantly low pressure evener through the central Plains. As this system organized and eventually passed on Monday and Tuesday, moderate and heavy movements became increasingly more widespread. However, Wednesday and Thursday saw more restricted flights, with moderate to locally heavy movements in the northern Plains and locally light to moderate flights to their south.
Top Movers
Increasing
Species
Increase from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Swamp Sparrow
148%
5.4
Dark-eyed Junco
79%
7
White-crowned Sparrow
64%
8.6
Spotted Towhee
79%
7
American Wigeon
96%
4.8
Yellow-rumped Warbler
39%
23.1
Song Sparrow
53%
8.1
Double-crested Cormorant
31%
17.4
Harris's Sparrow
62%
5.4
Herring Gull
174%
1.4
Redhead
63%
4
Lincoln's Sparrow
39%
10
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
28%
20.1
Green-winged Teal
47%
5.5
Field Sparrow
60%
4.3
Gadwall
52%
4.8
Savannah Sparrow
34%
8.3
American Coot
25%
14.3
White-throated Sparrow
32%
8.3
Ring-necked Duck
68%
2
Bonaparte's Gull
111%
1.3
Western Meadowlark
28%
13.1
Purple Finch
186%
0.9
Canvasback
66%
1.7
Western Wood-Pewee
103%
1.3
Decreasing
Species
Decrease from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Northern Parula
-92%
0.2
Brown Thrasher
-45%
5.8
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
-53%
3.5
Eastern Wood-Pewee
-69%
1.2
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
-89%
0.2
Gray Catbird
-37%
7.2
Red-headed Woodpecker
-45%
4.1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
-83%
0.4
Red-eyed Vireo
-68%
1
Least Flycatcher
-74%
0.7
Yellow Warbler
-92%
0.1
Snowy Egret
-59%
1.4
White-eyed Vireo
-90%
0.1
Spotted Sandpiper
-95%
0.1
Great Egret
-23%
10.3
Warbling Vireo
-70%
0.7
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
-84%
0.2
American Redstart
-76%
0.4
Mourning Dove
-15%
34.1
Killdeer
-22%
14.9
Broad-winged Hawk
-46%
1.8
Swainson's Thrush
-78%
0.3
American Kestrel
-20%
11.3
Varied Thrush. Ryan Merrill/Macaulay Library. eBird S39508864.
West
The intensity and extent of movements gradually increased over the first days of the period, with locally moderate and heavy flights in the Pacific Northwest and the central and southern Rockies by Sunday night. Following these flights, the remainder of the period saw primarily light to moderate flights that never achieved the extents seen on Sunday. These movements were particularly apparent in California and the Desert Southwest, occurring more locally away from these areas.