Migration in the Pacific Northwest

Since I'm located east of the Great Plains most of my focus on birds is the eastern half of the U.S. but I did look at some radar images this morning from the Pacific Northwest and there looks to be a pretty good landing on migrants from Portland, OR to Vancouver, BC. Below are images from this morning:

 

 The top image above shows migrants arriving this morning and as time progresses the image returns become more faint as birds land. This is the exact opposite progression of the liftoff we see in the evening.

 Ann Nightingale of Victoria, B.C. mentioned on BIRDBAND another radar image source for that region that looks really good. It is from the University of Washington. Again, the top image shows birds arriving and the second shows the image fading as birds land. For west coast birders I've also seen this pattern in the central valley of California.

 Here are those images:

 So as spring migration really begins to peak it might be worthwhile for birders to look at weather to get a feel for movement both into and out of your region. The thing that I've learned is that a good migration movement sometimes means birds are leaving - not arriving.

I'm going to go watch the White-throated Sparrows under my feeder for a while...

Migration Hot Spots

Tonight it looks like two areas of the country are having big movements of birds. The first is the expected location of south Texas. The southern tip of the state looks busy tonight.

 Lots of birds moving across the Rio Grande on their way to the nesting grounds. Further north it looks like Wisconsin is the winner in the Great Lakes region. We've had some rather bizarre weather the last 3 days with some parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin seeing 14+ inches of snow. Things are beginning to shift with temps. returning to "normal" by mid-week. There will be heavy runoff of melt water and this will result in both flood potential in localized areas but also will mean lots of agricultural fields with standing water for a while. Shorebirds may find plenty of habitat as they go north but may be so spread out that they will be hard to find.

Biggest movement in Wisconsin right now is along a line from about LaCrosse to Green Bay. Hard to say where these birds will put down in the morning but they may find snow drifts instead of open fields. Many lakes still have ice cover. The life of a migrating birds certainly isn't easy!

Keep the feeders full and your eyes open. No telling what might show up in these conditions. There is a Lazuli Bunting coming to a feeder in the eastern suburbs of St. Paul, MN. Boy it that bird in for a surprise...

Very Heavy Migration Tonight

Hello -

      Radar is indicating a very strong movement of migrants all across the eastern U.S. from Florida to Texas and north to a line of storms along a cold front moving into the South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin area. North of the front is very quiet. There should be obvious arrivals in peoples backyards tomorrow morning (except where I live north of the cold front - doesn't it figure!). Here is a screen shot of movement at about 10:45 pm on 4-30-13.

It sounds like weather will stay consistently cold for a few days so whatever migrants arrive in the morning should stay a while, except where I live...

Keep looking up!

April Banding Looked More Like March

We held our monthly banding session at the Lowry Nature Center just west of the Twin Cities last Saturday and it was more like March than April. The temps were no where near normal and the most common bird of the day was Dark-eyed Junco.

The morning totals ended up being 24 birds of 7 species. This Song Sparrow was one of the few migrants even seen that day. The afternoon did turn out to be the best part of the weekend and I went out birding but it sure isn't spring around here just yet.

Banding results were:

Dark-eyed Junco - 12
Black-capped Chickadee - 5
Chipping Sparrow - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
White breasted Nuthatch - 3
Song Sparrow - 1
Northern Cardinal - 1
      This fellow was a retrap first banded in 2008. He has chewed on his band so that it is overlapped. We did not replace the band as it still moved up and down his leg and the process of removing that band and putting on a new one would have caused more stress than we felt was justified. Besides he's an tough old bird and we hope to see him many more years.

Our next banding is next Sunday April 28th at Ritter Farm Park in Lakeville, Minnesota. It will be the first of 3 sessions there this spring and the predicted high that day may reach 70º. Hoping for a wave of Yellow-rumped Warblers!

A Greeting for Today

Hoping Everyone Has A Wonderful Earth Day 2013!

Possible Gulf Coast Fallout

There is a large weather front moving across the U.S. stretching from Texas to Michigan that looks to be the right set up for a migration fallout along the Texas and Louisiana gulf coast. Returns ahead of the front appear to show significant movement of migrants across the gulf.

This might be the day for birders down south to really be on the lookout for birds ahead of the rain.

Subspecies of the American Tree Sparrow

     One of the things I most enjoy about bird banding and having the opportunity to see birds up close in the hand is that I have the chance to learn something new with each bird. The American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) above is a case in point. When we had this bird at the banding table one of the first things that was commented on was how pale the bird looked. You can see from the photos that there is a large amount of gray around the head and nape. The spot on the breast is faint and the all over color appeared washed out compared to the other birds we handled that day.

A check with the Pyle manual showed that there are two recognized subspecies of American Tree Sparrow with the western subspecies being more pale and gray. Measurements for the bird (chord, tail, etc.) all fell within the described measurements for both subspecies. As far as we banders know, we had never handled an example of the western form before. So the question we had was "is this a sparrow that would qualify as the subspecies S. a. ocliracea?

Turns out that this is not a simple question. Not only is the variation between the subspecies subtle there is also, near our location, a zone of intergradation (overlap) that covers the Great Plains. Throw in the normal variation within the species and we realized we were over our head in assigning this bird to a subgroup.

So it comes to this - I am going to ask anyone who is familiar with the western form of ATSP to comment on this bird.

Decided to add a photo of the tail just for yucks. We aged and sexed this bird as an ASY-U. One person asked if we took any wing shots and unfortunately we didn't. Most of our ATSPs are headed north (finally).

Does it look like the western subspecies?
Is it possible to separate the groups in winter?
Do these photos show enough to make a determination?
Is this a Fool's Errand that I am pursuing?

Any insights from western banders would be most welcome. Fortunately, with birds now headed north for the summer this is not an identification that I will have to deal with until next winter. However, if there is a way to separate these subspecies it might give us insight into which birds winter here in Minnesota.

Thanks to all who comment!

Storm Keeping Migrants South

The big weather system moving through the center of the country is really keeping a significant movement of birds from getting into the upper mid-west and Great Lakes region of the U.S..

Note all the circle images south of the weather front. This is a region where temps are in the 70s and 80s for daytime highs. North of this front (like Minnesota) it is snowing heavily with a predicted 8-12" of snow to fall by Thursday night. Highs here are in the 30s.

Further south you can see heavy movement of migrants into the south Texas area. Reports form a banding station in southern Mexico indicate that there are good numbers of birds heading north including early warblers and thrushes.

Movement into the northern U.S. is likely going to be held up by the cold air sliding south out of Canada for the next few days. Temperatures are not predicted to rebound in the upper mid-west for a week or so. Birders in the lower Mississippi River Valley and the south-east U.S. should be seeing significant numbers of new birds showing up.

...and I thought I was done shoveling this year...

Just a Quick Update

Not much to talk about migration wise this week. A cold front with precipitation is headed into the Great Lakes states which should slow things down considerably. Last weekend was good for continued movement of waterfowl into the area along with early passerines. Many of the lakes are still ice covered. Newest birds for me were 3 Fox Sparrows in my yard this morning scratching  under the feeders.

Hopefully the winds will shift and the lakes will open up. That's when we should all get out there and see all we can see.

Crossley at "The Ridge"

                

    Minnesota is a birding destination year round whether you want to see grassland birds on our western prairie,

   waterfowl moving up the Mississippi in the early spring,

   warblers nesting in the Boundary Waters,

   or those winter specialties like Boreal Owls in the Sax-Zim Bog on cold, January mornings.

   But when it is mid-September in Minnesota the place to be for a birder to be is Hawk Ridge, a focal point of raptor migration at the western end of Lake Superior above the city of Duluth.

   A typical fall migration season at the ridge might see 100,000+ raptors pass by on their way south.  Check out last Septembers numbers. Minnesota's ecology results in our having a wide variety of raptors as both residents and visitors who make their journey from wintering grounds to nesting grounds and back again every year. In a good year in Minnesota you could check off 9 species of hawks, 4 species of falcons, 12 species of owls along with eagles, vultures and kites - many right at Hawk Ridge.

   The trick is to be able to ID these birds from a variety of angles and distances. Some species like Broad-winged Hawks soar on thermals high over the ridge in kettles that can number in the hundreds, while Sharp-shinned Hawks sometimes flash past you at little more than treetop height. I even got my lifer look at a Goshawk by looking DOWN from the observation area as it sailed past over the houses below.

    The new Crossley ID Guide to Raptors is going to be an invaluable tool for learning to ID the raptors that show up at Hawk Ridge as well as any other place in North America.
   How many times has a distant raptor been listed as "hawk?" on a daily checklist? Using the new raptor guide will help reduce the number of birds whose identifications are given up on. The plates in this new guide are bright and less cluttered than some of the plates in the first Crossley Guide.

   The various views of raptors set in typical habitats are as close to what you experience in the field as I have seen in any field guide or raptor ID book.
   A welcome addition to this new guide is more information in the form of range maps, natural history descriptions and details on behavior and voice that give birders a broader understanding of each of the species included in the guide. Spending time with this guide can't help but give a birder more confidence in their ability to ID raptors in the field. Like all of the best bird books, I expect mine to become thumb worn from all the hours of use in preparing for my next trip to "the ridge".

   Make sure to check out Tuesdays blog posts from:

Greg Laden's Blog

Birdwatch Vancouver Sun

Birdfreak

If you'd like to download some free sample plates from Richard Crossley's new guide just click here.

Good Birding and Keep Looking Up!

Early Migration

I was just checking radar to see if the predicted snow for Minnesota tomorrow was anywhere nearby when I saw some early migration movement in the southern U.S.

The fun thing to see is how the line of weather along a cold front  moving through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana has shut down any migration to the north. Each of the fuzzy circles with the dark centers are migrant birds. No circles above the front line. I guess we'll have to wait a bit longer for our Red-winged Blackbirds.

A Birding Tangent

Stopping at the new feeder station just north of Meadowlands in the Sax-Zim Bog I was treated to this ermine (long-tailed weasel) running around the area and diving into the snow.

My assumption is that the ermine was hunting rodents under the snow who were attracted by the seed that fell from the feeder. The ermine was absolutely unconcerned by the presence of all the birders looking at the Pine Grosbeaks up in the treetops.

After plunging into the snow in several places and reappearing in other spots, the ermine either moved along on his way or decided to hide. Several other birders got a glimpse before it disappeared. This was the first ever wild ermine I've had the luck to see. To have a chance to get a photo is even better!

The next posting will be back to talking about birds but this was too good to pass up.

Winter Birds Part 2

Once we traveled away from the feeder stations we began to see other typical species around the bog. The numbers of individuals was not very high but we did see most of the northern specialties we targeted.

One of my favorite birds if the Gray Jay also known as Canada Jay, Whiskey Jack and Camp Robber. They were one of the more common birds we encountered as we drove up and down the bog. At the Admiral Rd. feeder they were really attracted to the peanut butter spread on tree branches.

Red-breasted Nuthatches were nearby, stealing globs of peanut butter when the jays flew away. We had better luck finding these guys than we did seeing their white breasted cousins.

A couple of Northern Shrikes were found hanging out at the tops of trees along the road. I think we only saw 2 or 3 and I've noticed fewer down in my area than is usual. I don't know if that means anything but it is a change this year.

Finally, one of the birds we found is one we don't see every trip. There were 2 Brown Creepers inspecting the trees near one of the feeder stations. Another species that doesn't seem to mind a bunch of tourists staring at it while it eats.

Tomorrow, a little tangent from our search for birds.

Winter Birds Part 1

Exploring the Sax-Zim Bog on Saturday was really a treat. This is an annual excursion with a couple of good friends and even though the temps were low the sun was out and there wasn't much wind. We're lucky here in Minnesota in that we don't have to go very far to see some great birds. All the better if the birds come south and meet us half way. For example, there is word of a big number of Great Gray Owls in Roseau County (almost 60 in one part of the county).

 The most common bird of the day were all the Common Redpolls, especially at the feeder stations. I'm sure that there was the possibility of Hoary Redpolls being present but I just didn't get a good enough look to make the call.

There has been a pretty good movement of redpolls into the southern part of the state and I have had both redpolls and Pine Siskins at my feeders at home most of the winter.

 Along Blue Spruce Road there is a feeder station that is famous with birders. This is the spot to see several northern specialties all in one place. The Pine Grosbeaks were around but were a bit jumpy. In spite of that we had good looks.

We did see a couple of Evening Grosbeaks at this same feeder but their numbers are a bit lower than we've seen in the past. Most of the individuals we saw were either females or juveniles.

This is the best shot of an Evening Grosbeak that I got. Way back in the day, this used to be one of the most common species at feeders during the winter. Now it takes a lot of work to see any.

Tomorrow, more from the bog.

Bog Boreal

I had a great day at the  Sax-Zim Bog yesterday and have lots to write about in the coming days but I wanted to share this sighting with folks. We spent many hours driving the bog and were really working hard to even see the local birds. The temperature when we arrived in the morning as -12 degrees F but fortunately there wasn't much wind. Needless to say the early morning wasn't as productive as usual.

On our third trip down Admiral Rd. (a place anyone who has visited the bog will be familiar with) we saw a group of cars on the side of the road with tripods and cameras out. At first we thought this was the feeder station but it was actually north of the feeders. We pulled up and were ecstatic to see a very cooperative Boreal Owl sitting on a branch on the side of the road. It had been there at least 2 hours and wasn't going anywhere soon so I and my two birding buddies Bill and Russ all got a lifer at the same time and filled up a good portion of our cameras memory card with photos of this bird.

This wasn't the only surprise of the day but that story will have to wait until tomorrow.

Searching for Saw-whet Owls

One of the hardest groups of birds for birders to find sometimes are owls. It can be easy to hear them at certain times of the year and if you know where a breeding pair are you often get a good look. However if you know where to look and what to look for when you're out in the woods you can improve your chances of finding owls that might otherwise go undetected. Most often though seeing owls is a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

When I'm out in the winter time here in east central Minnesota, if I want to know if there are any owls lurking in the area I'm visiting, I'll look for telltale signs of an owl roost. For the elusive little Saw-whet Owl I'll check the Eastern Red Cedars along the trails I'm hiking. Every once in a while I'll find some "whitewash" on a tree trunk. This is a sign that someone is spending significant time in that spot.

Once you see what might be a roosting branch the next thing to check is the ground below the tree. Owls, of course, swallow their prey whole and cannot digest everything they take in so they regurgitate the undigested material as a "pellet". You can even see a pellet on the ground next to the tree trunk. If an owl is spending time in the same spot these pellets tend to accumulate. A careful check can produce a handful of surprises.

These Saw-whet pellets are quite large for a bird that is so small but that appears to be normal. If you want to investigate the owls diet it is easy to tease apart the pellets and look for bits of bone and skull. This bird was eating lots of rodents.

A little patience and some careful skulking can reward a birder with a close up view of a bird that many people have never even heard of. If you do find a roosting owl, please keep a reasonable distance and try not to disturb the bird since any extra expenditure of energy can be a detriment to the wintering owl. But if you do get a look it will be well worth the effort!

Here's to good birding!

A New Tool for Banders

The Bird Banding Lab recently sent out a note to banders describing a new website that looks like it might be useful to banders when it comes to having photos of birds in the hand that will help age and sex different species. The site is called Piranga and it is found through NatureInstruct. Not only is it a source to use, it is also a site to which banders can contribute.

When trying to determine age and sex of birds it is often necessary to look at every feather of the wing and/or tail along with other characteristics depending on the species.

 This Blue headed Vireo is an example of a bird that was aged by looking at the wing feathers. We took a documenting photo of the wing to show what we saw and why we aged it as we did. The photo of the wing is the type that is found on Piranga.

If you look at the greater coverts (the feathers that form the lower wing bar) you'll see the one on the very left is different. This feather is retained and has not been molted yet. This molt limit is definitive for age. This bird was caught in September and was aged hatch year. I think this could be a great resource for figuring out tough species or even for reviewing the characteristics of species that we know we will be banding before they arrive in numbers. I know that I am going to spend time looking at both fall Yellow-rumped Warblers and Slate-colored Juncos. They can be confusing at certain times of the year.

Registration is free and as a disclaimer I am not associated with the site at all (but wish I was).

Hello Again!

It has been quite a while since I have written a post. The lapse started last spring with a bout of pneumonia and continued through the summer with a big garden, high school bowling tournaments for my kids and a terribly hot and dry banding area. I skipped a lot of banding due to the weather but this fall has started to be a bit more reasonable as far as banding goes.

The North Central Bird Observatory (me and Mark Newstrom) held 3 fall banding sessions at Ritter Farm Park near Lakeville, MN and the last of the 3 was really good for banding migrants. This Black and White Warbler was just one of several species we banded.

 This young Connecticut Warbler was a surprise find in the nets. It was caught in that typical place for this species, the very bottom of the net. It was skulking along the edge of a small wetland where we have one of our net lanes. This is only the second COWA that I have handled so it was pretty exciting.

Always nice to catch are Ovenbirds. For me, this is a true sign of banding in September. Some days Ovenbirds are the most numerous species in the nets.

This Brown Thrasher was a real hand full (literally) and was a big hit with the visitors to the banding program. Unfortunately we see fewer of these than we used to.

The "best catch" of the day might be a tie between the Connecticut Warbler and this Philadelphia Vireo. We have had a few of these in the last couple of years and to be honest I see more in the nets than I see through my binoculars. Another sign of fall banding.

Here's hoping October is a productive month for our nets and maybe someone will catch these birds on their wintering grounds. Hear that Manuel?!

As an aside, I have started "tweeting" and hope to post more timely bird updates. Follow me under user name RDEverhart.