Light to moderate flights in the West last weekend featured Bufflehead, Cackling Goose, Ring-necked Duck, Herring Gull, Varied Thrush, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Sparrow, and Dark-eyed Junco, while several pulses of moderate to very heavy flights in the East featured Green-winged Teal, Bufflehead, Northern Harrier, Wilson’s Snipe, Hermit Thrush, Eastern Meadowlark, Snow Bunting, White-throated Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Le Conte’s Sparrow, and Field Sparrow.
Curious what birds will move next? Check out our forecast.
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Northerly flow and slightly cooler temperatures following the passage of a cold front brought moderate to very heavy flights to the Midwest and Northeast on Friday and Saturday nights. Following the passage of this front, high pressure returned to the region and quieted the movements substantially by Sunday night. Another frontal passage through the region brought moderate to heavy flights in the Midwest and mid Atlantic on Monday and Tuesday nights, with the extent of these flights reaching the coast by Wednesday night. Note that some coastal movements on Wednesday night were very heavy, particular in New Jersey and DelMarVa. Another disturbance moving through the eastern Great Lakes on Thursday night spawned a new round of moderate to heavy flights, as the remainder of the region farther east saw little movement in primarily unfavorable southerly flow. Note that some localized flights occurred in the mid Atlantic, where conditions were locally favorable for the large number of migrants from previous nights’ to take flight.
Top Movers
Increasing
Species
Increase from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Snow Bunting
366%
0.1
Bufflehead
231%
0.5
Short-eared Owl
158%
0.1
Western Kingbird
135%
0.2
Canvasback
122%
0.4
American Tree Sparrow
118%
1.2
Franklin's Gull
84%
1.2
Ruddy Duck
73%
5.5
Red-necked Grebe
71%
0.7
Redhead
63%
2.1
Lesser Scaup
57%
1.5
American Coot
44%
6
Fox Sparrow
41%
2.1
Ring-necked Duck
31%
2.3
Gadwall
29%
3.2
Dark-eyed Junco
23%
16.5
American Wigeon
19%
3.8
Field Sparrow
17%
8.8
Pied-billed Grebe
17%
8.9
Hermit Thrush
16%
8.5
Wilson's Snipe
16%
2.7
Northern Harrier
14%
6.6
Green-winged Teal
13%
7.1
Red-winged Blackbird
8%
24.8
White-throated Sparrow
8%
33.2
Decreasing
Species
Decrease from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Wood Thrush
-90%
0.1
Scarlet Tanager
-83%
0.2
Eastern Wood-Pewee
-80%
0.6
Black-and-white Warbler
-78%
0.6
American Redstart
-77%
0.8
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
-76%
0.5
Gray-cheeked Thrush
-76%
0.2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
-71%
0.5
Magnolia Warbler
-67%
1.1
Chimney Swift
-64%
3.8
Cape May Warbler
-64%
0.7
Black-throated Green Warbler
-62%
2.3
Red-eyed Vireo
-61%
1.3
Tennessee Warbler
-60%
1.6
Black-throated Blue Warbler
-55%
2.2
Swainson's Thrush
-55%
1.6
Northern Parula
-55%
1.7
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
-52%
0.8
Common Yellowthroat
-50%
7.1
Indigo Bunting
-48%
3
House Wren
-47%
3.6
Nashville Warbler
-41%
2.8
Gray Catbird
-40%
16.3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
-36%
6.9
Eastern Phoebe
-29%
17.9
American Wigeon, Ryan Schain
Gulf Coast and Southeast
Moderate to very heavy flights occurred across the region during the period. These movements occurred in several waves, but much of the region participate in the action and experienced excellent migration nights. The pulses of favorable conditions moved in two to three waves through the southeast, alternating with locally unfavorable conditions where migration was minimal. By the end of the period, movements were increasingly restricted to coastal areas from the Carolinas into Florida and west along the Gulf Coast through Texas.
Top Movers
Increasing
Species
Increase from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Greater White-fronted Goose
1949%
0.7
White-throated Sparrow
339%
4
Swamp Sparrow
309%
5.2
White-crowned Sparrow
287%
1.3
American Wigeon
181%
1.5
Vesper Sparrow
178%
0.7
Gadwall
163%
1
Redhead
150%
1
Yellow-rumped Warbler
134%
8.5
Lincoln's Sparrow
95%
5
Savannah Sparrow
89%
5.2
Golden-crowned Kinglet
89%
2
American Coot
68%
10.3
Eastern Meadowlark
65%
4.7
Blue-headed Vireo
53%
3.6
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
48%
14.9
Chipping Sparrow
47%
6.6
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
45%
10.3
Song Sparrow
44%
8
Pied-billed Grebe
39%
16.1
Palm Warbler
38%
21.5
Eastern Phoebe
37%
32.3
House Wren
37%
10.5
Northern Flicker
18%
24.9
Decreasing
Species
Decrease from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Mississippi Kite
-88%
0
Eastern Kingbird
-82%
0.1
Golden-winged Warbler
-75%
0.1
Philadelphia Vireo
-74%
0.2
Burrowing Owl
-73%
0
Bell's Vireo
-73%
0
Veery
-55%
0.5
Least Flycatcher
-53%
0.2
Wilson's Warbler
-52%
0.9
Yellow-breasted Chat
-51%
0.2
Bobolink
-48%
0.8
Chestnut-sided Warbler
-43%
1.9
Cliff Swallow
-41%
0.4
Yellow Warbler
-36%
1.8
Broad-winged Hawk
-32%
1.5
Chimney Swift
-29%
7.8
Wood Thrush
-29%
2.4
Common Raven
-27%
1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
-25%
4.3
Northern Waterthrush
-24%
1.8
Roseate Spoonbill
-22%
3.5
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
-21%
11
Green Heron
-18%
5.1
Cattle Egret
-16%
6.4
Savannah Sparrow, Ryan Schain
Great Plains
No extensive intense flights occurred at the regional scale during this period. However, northern, central, and southern Plains’ locations each experienced pulses of moderate flights. The most extensive occurred in the southern Plains to kick off last weekend, followed on Sunday night by similarly intense flights in the central Plains. Monday night saw the most extensive of the region’s flight for the week, with light to moderate flights in the north and moderate flights in the central and southern Plains. As similarly extensive but less intense movement ended the period on Thursday night.
Top Movers
Increasing
Species
Increase from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Bonaparte's Gull
501%
2
Ring-necked Duck
397%
3.1
Horned Grebe
359%
3
Nelson's Sparrow
308%
5.2
Le Conte's Sparrow
164%
9.2
Northern Saw-whet Owl
134%
0.8
Song Sparrow
111%
23.4
Redhead
98%
6.6
Sandhill Crane
94%
2.1
American Wigeon
82%
5.8
Northern Pintail
72%
7.9
Harris's Sparrow
59%
12
Pine Siskin
57%
7.3
Savannah Sparrow
48%
18.1
Swamp Sparrow
47%
9.6
Field Sparrow
43%
9.4
White-crowned Sparrow
35%
13.2
Ring-billed Gull
32%
18.3
Franklin's Gull
31%
24
Western Meadowlark
31%
13.6
Dark-eyed Junco
30%
22.4
Eastern Meadowlark
28%
14.1
American Coot
26%
22.6
Decreasing
Species
Decrease from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Peregrine Falcon
-100%
0
Broad-winged Hawk
-100%
0
Summer Tanager
-97%
0
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
-96%
0.1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
-95%
0
Spotted Sandpiper
-95%
0
American Bittern
-83%
0.2
Indigo Bunting
-81%
0.7
Snowy Egret
-79%
0.9
Purple Finch
-75%
0.5
Chimney Swift
-65%
3.1
Gray Catbird
-61%
2.7
Nashville Warbler
-59%
4.1
Blue-headed Vireo
-57%
1.2
Tennessee Warbler
-54%
1.1
Common Nighthawk
-47%
1.3
Brown Thrasher
-35%
4.5
Barn Swallow
-35%
5.8
Hairy Woodpecker
-27%
9
House Wren
-26%
7.2
Cedar Waxwing
-22%
7
Eastern Phoebe
-21%
13.2
Bufflehead, Ryan Schain
West
Light to moderate flights were scattered across the west last weekend. Additionally, a local flight in the Pacific Northwest on Tuesday night that reached moderate to locally heavy intensities was a bright spot in what was otherwise a mostly quiet remainder of the period across the region. Note that some areas of the southern Rockies saw more intense flights, in some places moderate to locally heavy, particularly last weekend and to end the period on Thursday night.
