Pine Grosbeak. John Corden/Macaulay Library. eBird S32438550.
Continental Summary
Movements in the West were local and light, primarily along the Pacific Coast, featuring Tundra Swan, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Bonaparte’s Gull, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Bohemian Waxwing, and Purple Finch, while in the East pulses of sub-regional movements were moderate to locally heavy and featured Greater Scaup, Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Red-throated Loon, Horned Grebe, American Robin, American Tree Sparrow, Pine Siskin, and Purple Finch.
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The period began with local light to moderate flights along the coast, and to some extent over New York and New England, while the remainder of the region remained generally quiet. With the arrival and passage of a cold front on Monday night, light to moderate flights began anew in the Upper Midwest. These intensified and grew more extensive by Tuesday night, but their intensity and extent stopped at the Appalachians. The period ended with a similar quiet to its start, with only locally light to moderate flights but this time in the Upper Midwest.
Top Movers
Increasing
Species
Increase from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Bufflehead
55%
11.7
American Tree Sparrow
48%
9
Common Goldeneye
47%
3
Hooded Merganser
28%
7.8
Tundra Swan
83%
0.8
Pine Grosbeak
96%
0.4
Pine Siskin
31%
1.7
Redhead
23%
2.6
Lesser Scaup
23%
3.6
Ring-necked Duck
17%
5.9
Red-throated Loon
25%
2.6
Boreal Chickadee
541%
0.1
Sanderling
25%
1.9
Canvasback
29%
1.3
White-winged Crossbill
51%
0.3
Common Merganser
13%
4.7
Gray Jay
47%
0.2
American Black Duck
8%
10
Cave Swallow
91%
0.1
Mallard
5%
33.3
Harlequin Duck
38%
0.3
Decreasing
Species
Decrease from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
-53%
4.8
Yellow-rumped Warbler
-49%
7.2
Chipping Sparrow
-61%
2.1
Eastern Phoebe
-73%
0.9
Pectoral Sandpiper
-80%
0.2
Field Sparrow
-41%
2.9
Cedar Waxwing
-35%
8
Palm Warbler
-62%
0.9
Purple Finch
-34%
5.4
Blue-headed Vireo
-92%
0
Common Grackle
-33%
7.1
Hermit Thrush
-36%
3.2
Vesper Sparrow
-68%
0.2
Osprey
-66%
0.4
White-crowned Sparrow
-39%
2.7
Lesser Yellowlegs
-63%
0.3
Red-winged Blackbird
-23%
14.6
Golden-crowned Kinglet
-24%
11.3
Franklin's Gull
-72%
0.2
Brown-headed Cowbird
-40%
1.9
Tree Swallow
-51%
0.8
American Robin
-17%
31.4
American Pipit
-38%
1.9
Blackpoll Warbler
-91%
0
Yellow-breasted Chat
-76%
0.1
American Robin. Steve Raduns/Macaulay Library. eBird S32351870.
Gulf Coast and Southeast
Widespread moderate and locally heavy flights occurred on Friday night, thereafter diminishing significantly in intensity and extent. Flights remained local for the days that followed, but by Tuesday night began to increase in intensity to moderate to locally heavy over Texas. Wednesday night saw another pulse of moderate to locally heavy flights across most of the region, followed on Thursday night by more scattered light to moderate flights.
Top Movers
Increasing
Species
Increase from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Hooded Merganser
413%
2.2
Bufflehead
830%
1.4
Horned Grebe
617%
1.4
Ring-necked Duck
88%
5.4
Lesser Scaup
98%
2.6
Black Scoter
241%
1.2
Dark-eyed Junco
46%
7.7
American Robin
37%
21.5
Red-breasted Merganser
582%
0.7
Northern Gannet
118%
1.4
Ruddy Duck
29%
5.4
American Goldfinch
34%
10.5
Canvasback
164%
0.8
Surf Scoter
316%
0.7
Ring-billed Gull
26%
7
Common Loon
68%
1.2
Rusty Blackbird
84%
0.8
Yellow-rumped Warbler
23%
33.6
Redhead
28%
2.9
Green-winged Teal
14%
6.5
Gadwall
17%
6.8
Snow Goose
55%
1
Purple Finch
39%
1.5
Great Black-backed Gull
63%
1.2
Decreasing
Species
Decrease from Last Week
% of Checklists Reporting
Barn Swallow
-60%
2.2
Black Phoebe
-77%
0.5
Stilt Sandpiper
-74%
0.6
Indigo Bunting
-69%
1
White-faced Ibis
-58%
1.8
Black-necked Stilt
-51%
2.6
Franklin's Gull
-68%
0.9
Wilson's Snipe
-34%
4.3
Lesser Yellowlegs
-38%
3.2
Eastern Wood-Pewee
-92%
0.1
Neotropic Cormorant
-41%
3.1
Long-billed Dowitcher
-42%
2.8
Hooded Merganser. Rick Sammons/Macaulay Library. eBird S32487822.
Great Plains
Locally moderate to heavy flights kicked off the period in the southern Plains, diminishing rapidly by Saturday night; however, the remainder of the region was quiet. With the passage of low pressure on Monday came a pulse of light and moderate flights in the northern and central Plains, followed on Tuesday night by a more intense flight in the central and southern Plains. Wednesday saw a movement very similar in intensity and extent to the weekend’s kickoff flight in the southern Plains, and the period ended with local light and isolated moderate flights across the region.
The period was generally quiet from a migration perspective. California, portions of the Pacific Northwest, and portions of the Desert Southwest were the only areas that saw action, and even this was restricted mostly to a few nights of the period. The most regular and intense flights occurred in California, with the Central Valley experiencing locally moderate flights on most nights.