Moderate flights occurred in many areas of the West and featured Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson’s Phalarope, Warbling Vireo, Swainson’s Thrush, Western Tanager, Black-headed Grosbeak, and Evening Grosbeak, while in the East moderate and heavy flights punctuated by intense low pressure systems featured Mississippi Kite, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Bell’s Vireo, Bay-breasted Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Canada Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Bobolink, and Dickcissel.
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Moderate flights occurred over the weekend amidst some significant disturbances passing through the region. Most of these movements subsided by Monday and Tuesday nights, when only localized light to moderate movements were aloft in coastal and Midwestern locales. Wednesday and Thursday saw a return to the earlier period pattern, with moderate movements in Midwest and in New England, with a significant storm system moving across the region literally dampening migrants elsewhere.
Top Movers
Increasing
Species
Increase from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Baltimore Oriole
194%
22.5
Black-throated Blue Warbler
241%
9.8
American Redstart
206%
13.9
Gray Catbird
141%
42
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
164%
15.7
Veery
275%
6.7
Ovenbird
123%
18.2
Black-and-white Warbler
109%
19.9
Blackpoll Warbler
281%
3.8
Red-eyed Vireo
125%
11.9
Common Yellowthroat
91%
23.9
Magnolia Warbler
507%
2.7
Chestnut-sided Warbler
291%
3.4
Scarlet Tanager
139%
9.7
Great Crested Flycatcher
101%
13.1
Swainson's Thrush
189%
4.8
Cape May Warbler
405%
2.2
Eastern Kingbird
104%
11.7
Bobolink
309%
2.2
Indigo Bunting
110%
8.9
Wood Thrush
82%
14.9
Black-throated Green Warbler
101%
9.5
Yellow Warbler
65%
25.7
Chimney Swift
86%
12.4
Northern Waterthrush
93%
7.7
Decreasing
Species
Decrease from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Dark-eyed Junco
-48%
3.6
Rusty Blackbird
-58%
0.8
Field Sparrow
-20%
9.8
Northern Shoveler
-36%
2.3
Green-winged Teal
-40%
1.9
American Coot
-32%
2.7
Wilson's Snipe
-46%
1.2
Belted Kingfisher
-16%
8.5
Blue-winged Teal
-19%
5.7
Ring-necked Duck
-41%
1.6
Killdeer
-11%
13.8
Pectoral Sandpiper
-39%
1.4
Pied-billed Grebe
-28%
2.9
Bufflehead
-27%
3
Greater Yellowlegs
-18%
6
Hermit Thrush
-20%
4.7
Brown Thrasher
-13%
9.8
White-throated Sparrow
-10%
32
Hooded Merganser
-33%
1.8
Fish Crow
-14%
6.9
Bay-breasted Warbler. Roland Rumm/Macaulay Library. eBird S36227379.
Gulf Coast and Southeast
Moderate to heavy movements were widespread in the region to begin the period, most extensively so on Friday night. The nights that followed saw significant precipitation shut down flights in some areas. Moderate to heavy flights were again widespread on Monday and Tuesday nights, in advance of a strong storm system passing into the Gulf of Mexico region on Wednesday. With the departure of this system into the mid Atlantic, locally moderate to heavy flights occurred in mostly marginal conditions on Thursday night. Note that early in the period and late in the period, precipitation put down numerous migrants, including in deadly fashion in some locations.
Local light to moderate flights, primarily in the southern and northern Plains, were the norm for the first days of the period. The distribution of these flights largely surrounded areas of unfavorable weather, most intense on Saturday and Sunday in the central Plains. By Tuesday night more extensive light to moderate flights were apparent, though primarily still in the southern half of the region. Wednesday and Thursday night saw moderate flights return to the northern and central Plains.
Top Movers
Increasing
Species
Increase from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Yellow Warbler
232%
8.8
Dickcissel
127%
10.5
Baltimore Oriole
96%
13.1
Western Kingbird
96%
10.7
Least Flycatcher
272%
3.5
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
319%
3.4
Bell's Vireo
476%
2.1
Indigo Bunting
90%
7.2
Chimney Swift
83%
7.8
Gray Catbird
92%
6.6
Eastern Kingbird
43%
13.8
Barn Swallow
25%
33
Orchard Oriole
178%
3.3
Chipping Sparrow
29%
28.2
Bobolink
316%
1.8
House Wren
36%
19.7
White-crowned Sparrow
28%
20
White-rumped Sandpiper
124%
3.3
Blue Grosbeak
158%
2.6
Painted Bunting
120%
3
Swainson's Thrush
42%
9.9
Mississippi Kite
290%
1.3
Purple Martin
49%
7.9
Clay-colored Sparrow
36%
10
Decreasing
Species
Decrease from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Horned Grebe
-78%
0.7
Green-winged Teal
-49%
3.4
Gadwall
-40%
6.4
American Wigeon
-48%
3.3
Double-crested Cormorant
-32%
11.4
Black-throated Blue Warbler
-79%
0.4
Ruddy Duck
-39%
4.7
Ring-necked Pheasant
-31%
7.1
Northern Pintail
-38%
4.2
Redhead
-40%
3.1
Canvasback
-51%
1.5
Northern Harrier
-43%
2.8
Osprey
-43%
2.4
Dark-eyed Junco
-78%
0.5
Western Meadowlark
-27%
10.9
Hermit Thrush
-66%
0.6
Ring-billed Gull
-26%
8.4
Bufflehead
-47%
2
Northern Shoveler
-21%
16.4
Mallard
-18%
25.5
Marbled Godwit
-45%
1.8
Lesser Scaup
-34%
4
Black-necked Stilt
-49%
1.2
Semipalmated Plover
-36%
2.8
Wilson's Snipe
-39%
2.1
Spotted Sandpiper. Ed Harper/Macaulay Library. eBird S36343464.
West
Light to moderate flights were apparent in some areas of the region for much of the period, particularly in California, the Desert Southwest, and portions of the Great Basin. However, it was on Thursday night when the extent of movement across the region was at its greatest, with moderate flights from northern California and the Desert Southwest east through the souther and central Rockies and in portions of the Great Basin. These flights included some locally heavy movements in eastern Colorado and New Mexico.