The Radar is Lit Up Tonight!

My friend Sue alerted me to the fact that the radar is really active tonight (actually 3 am Friday). I usually see returns like this in the spring but it sure looks like a huge movement of birds southward tonight. Most of the concentration appears to be in the southern Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois area.

Based on what has been around here lately I'm guessing that most of what is moving are the late warblers, especially Yellow-rumps which have been here in big numbers for the last week and sparrows. I have seen reports of birders seeing flocks of migrating sparrows with multiple species.

The forecast for my area of Minnesota is for cooler temps but precipitation should stay away for the next couple of days so we'll see how birding is this weekend. I know that the big influx in my yard has been of Dark eyed Juncos. The ones here now will move on and the winter residents won't be here for a few weeks yet.

Time to get out birding!

Sometimes when birds show up they show up in waves. Such was the case on Sunday when I opened my nets on a clear and warm day. The winds had been steadily out of the south for several days so I wasn't expecting lots of migrants but from the first net run it was obvious that there were birds everywhere. For the next 7 hours it was a bird bonanza. I hadn't had a day this good in a long time and there were so many birds in the nets I wished I had some help but alas I was a one man show. By the end of the session I had netted 54 individuals of 10 different species.

The most common species for the day were what I would expect in this area in early October. Yellow-rumped Warblers and White-throated Sparrows made up the bulk of the days catch. Yellow-rumps in the fall can be quite a challenge to age and sex but after seeing so many it became easier. Along with these species I banded 2 other warbler species and 3 other sparrow species. Below is a complete list for the day:
Nashville Warbler - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Orange-crowned Warbler - 2
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler - 29
Swamp Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 16
Fox Sparrow - 1
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
This weekend is the regular banding session at the Lowry Nature Center in Carver Park Reserve near Victoria, MN. The weather is supposed to hold until then with no big fronts coming through but a gradual decline in daily high temperatures. If you would like to come out and help band birds we start right at 9 am. See you there!