A generally quiet week in the West featured isolated light and moderate flights of Greater White-fronted Goose, Northern Pintail, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Western Bluebird, and Yellow-rumped Warbler, while moderate flights of Red-breasted Merganser, White-winged Scoter, Franklin’s Gull, American Robin, Savannah Sparrow, and American Tree Sparrow graced the East early and late in the period.
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Moderate to locally heavy flights kicked off the weekend, though most movements occurred south and west of New England and New York. Coastal areas in New England were the exception, experiencing moderate and locally heavy flights on Saturday and Sunday nights. Following the weekend, an unsettled period kept most birds grounded – precipitation associated with several passing disturbances shut down the system for most locations and nights. Some areas of the mid Atlantic experienced locally moderate flights on Wednesday night.
Top Movers
Increasing
Species
Increase from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Red-breasted Merganser
76%
4.9
Red-throated Loon
66%
3.3
Cave Swallow
314%
0.3
Bufflehead
31%
11.3
White-winged Scoter
50%
3.1
Long-tailed Duck
45%
2.5
Harlequin Duck
70%
0.5
Black Scoter
48%
2.9
American Tree Sparrow
12%
9.6
Hooded Merganser
21%
7.3
Razorbill
51%
0.3
Surf Scoter
34%
2.9
Purple Sandpiper
45%
0.3
Dovekie
161%
0
Common Merganser
22%
4.4
Common Goldeneye
24%
2.5
Franklin's Gull
124%
0.7
Tundra Swan
21%
0.9
Common Loon
12%
9.1
Horned Grebe
14%
4.1
Common Eider
15%
2.1
American Avocet
36%
0.2
Ruddy Turnstone
31%
0.5
Decreasing
Species
Decrease from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Pectoral Sandpiper
-85%
0.1
Yellow-rumped Warbler
-32%
8.6
Dickcissel
-79%
0.1
Red-winged Blackbird
-28%
14.7
Golden-crowned Kinglet
-33%
6.5
Chipping Sparrow
-50%
1.5
Savannah Sparrow
-41%
2.5
Common Grackle
-28%
7.2
Killdeer
-35%
4.4
Orange-crowned Warbler
-61%
0.3
Swamp Sparrow
-31%
5.4
White-crowned Sparrow
-40%
2.7
Gray Catbird
-57%
1
American Woodcock
-60%
0.2
American Robin
-17%
33.9
Semipalmated Plover
-83%
0.1
Black-bellied Plover
-36%
1.4
Osprey
-63%
0.3
Greater Yellowlegs
-28%
3.1
Cedar Waxwing
-24%
10.9
Eastern Bluebird
-20%
11.3
Clay-colored Sparrow
-95%
0
Lesser Yellowlegs
-55%
0.4
Pine Siskin
-29%
3.1
Wood Duck
-25%
4.1
American Robin, Ryan Schain
Gulf Coast and Southeast
A variety of weather conditions yielded a similarly varied migration scene from Friday through Monday night. Light to locally heavy movements kicked off the weekend in many areas excluding the Mississippi River valley and southern Appalachian terminus. As the rain associated with the disturbance moved east, moderate and locally heavy flights continued but excluding the southeastern coastal Plains and southern Appalachians on Sunday. By Monday night movements were local, but moderate, as generally marginal and unfavorable conditions were spreads across the region. A widespread moderate flight occurred east of the Mississippi River on Tuesday night, while Wednesday saw generally lower intensity but more widely scattered flights as a frontal boundary bisected the region. The period ended with moderate flights scattered from Texas east through the southern Appalachians and Florida Panhandle.
Top Movers
Increasing
Species
Increase from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Lesser Scaup
102%
2.9
American Robin
40%
20.4
Bufflehead
211%
1.5
Horned Grebe
67%
2.5
Ring-necked Duck
47%
5.8
American Goldfinch
32%
13
Hooded Merganser
101%
2.2
Red-breasted Merganser
278%
0.7
Cedar Waxwing
38%
4.8
Dark-eyed Junco
28%
7.5
Savannah Sparrow
39%
12.9
Rusty Blackbird
116%
0.8
Redhead
36%
3.7
Harris's Sparrow
349%
0.4
Yellow-rumped Warbler
19%
31
Ruddy Duck
23%
7
Northern Gannet
68%
1.1
Red-tailed Hawk
27%
13
American Pipit
35%
3
Canvasback
61%
1.1
Winter Wren
49%
2.6
Bonaparte's Gull
48%
1.2
Eared Grebe
49%
1.1
Decreasing
Species
Decrease from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Black-throated Green Warbler
-63%
1.2
Barn Swallow
-52%
2.9
Indigo Bunting
-50%
3.2
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
-49%
3.4
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
-53%
0.9
Tennessee Warbler
-61%
0.6
Summer Tanager
-62%
0.5
American Redstart
-57%
0.8
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
-43%
2.8
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
-65%
0.4
Bufflehead, Ryan Schain
Great Plains
Scattered light to locally moderate flights on the weekend diminished to little to no movement by Sunday and Monday night. The end of the week saw slight improvements but only at a very local scale, with most movements isolated and light to moderate and nowhere distributed widely. These included light to moderate flights in the eastern Plains on Thursday night from the Dakotas south to Oklahoma.
Top Movers
Increasing
Species
Increase from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Purple Finch
750%
4.3
Thayer's Gull
149%
4.2
Herring Gull
120%
10
Common Merganser
118%
2.8
Red-breasted Merganser
94%
3.3
Cackling Goose
93%
5.2
Hooded Merganser
31%
7.1
Lesser Scaup
20%
11.4
Black-headed Gull
141%
0.5
Common Goldeneye
39%
2.4
Common Loon
25%
5
Nashville Warbler
375%
0.3
White-winged Scoter
39%
1.3
Greater Scaup
32%
1.3
Ring-billed Gull
8%
31.4
American Tree Sparrow
16%
12.2
Bonaparte's Gull
15%
7.3
Cedar Waxwing
13%
11
Ring-necked Duck
13%
10.9
Redhead
12%
15.2
Belted Kingfisher
12%
10.6
Mallard
7%
33.8
Rusty Blackbird
18%
1.5
Pine Grosbeak
29%
0.7
Decreasing
Species
Decrease from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Sandhill Crane
-85%
0.5
Chipping Sparrow
-67%
1.4
Swamp Sparrow
-80%
0.5
Merlin
-78%
0.5
Lincoln's Sparrow
-68%
1.2
Savannah Sparrow
-51%
3
Fox Sparrow
-53%
2.4
White-throated Sparrow
-39%
5.4
Eared Grebe
-60%
1.3
Franklin's Gull
-30%
8.8
American Crow
-22%
31.6
American Avocet
-48%
1.3
White-crowned Sparrow
-25%
8.1
Green-winged Teal
-23%
9.2
Sedge Wren
-92%
0
Turkey Vulture
-64%
0.6
Orange-crowned Warbler
-51%
1.2
Snowy Owl
-67%
0.4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
-28%
5.9
American White Pelican
-25%
6.1
Rough-legged Hawk
-66%
1.2
Song Sparrow
-16%
14.4
Le Conte's Sparrow
-44%
1.2
Lapland Longspur
-51%
0.7
Ross’s Goose, Ryan Schain
West
The region was generally quiet for this week, typical of this late date in the season. Locally light movements from the Central Valley south and east through the Desert Southwest were the primary subjects of the period’s flights.