News

Continental Summary
Marginal and favorable migration conditions for light to moderate flights are scattered across the West for the middle of the period and will feature White-winged Scoter, Common Loon, Clark’s Grebe, California Gull, Merlin, American Pipit, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, while…

Light and locally moderate movements featuring Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Tundra Swan, Bonaparte’s Gull, Say’s Phoebe, American Pipit, and Rusty Blackbird, were the norm in some parts of the West, while pulses of locally moderate to heavy flights came to the East and featured Bufflehead, Hooded Merganser, Ross’s Goose, Common Loon, Rough-legged Hawk, Herring Gull, Hermit Thrush, Snow Bunting, and Dark-eyed Junco.

A strong low pressure center moving up the Atlantic Coast late during the week of 23 October 2017 produced favorable conditions to transport Neotropical migrants on the move, presumably from the southeastern US, far to the north of their intended destinations.

Favorable migration conditions with light to moderate movements featuring Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Ross’s Goose, Canada Goose, Pacific Loon, Western Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Dunlin, and Ring-billed Gull come early in the period to some areas of the West, several pulses of favorable migration conditions bring moderate to very heavy movements to the East that will feature American Wigeon, Pied-billed Grebe, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Harrier, Sandhill Crane, Eastern Phoebe, House Wren, and Pine Siskin.

Scattered light to moderate movements occurred in the West this week featuring Bufflehead, Canvasback, Lesser Scaup, Red-breasted Merganser, Western Grebe, Horned Grebe, Bonaparte’s Gull, Herring Gull, American Pipit, while pulses of moderate to locally very heavy movements featuring Common Goldeneye, Ring-necked Duck, Rough-legged Hawk, Franklin’s Gull, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, White-throated Sparrow, American Tree Sparrow, and Common Redpoll occurred in the East. A displacement of Neotropical migrants to points far north of their typical ranges occurred and continued to unfold at the end of the period in New England and the Canadian Maritimes.

Several pulses of favorable migration conditions bring mid to late period moderate flights featuring Common Loon, Dunlin, Bonaparte’s Gull, Belted Kingfisher, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Marsh Wren, Hermit Thrush, and White-throated Sparrow to many areas of the West, while two frontal passages spawn moderate to very heavy flights featuring Double-crested Cormorant, Northern Harrier, Belted Kingfisher, Vesper Sparrow, Common Grackle, and Red-winged Blackbird in the East.

Locally moderate flights occurred in the West during this period and featured Bufflehead, Lesser Scaup, Dunlin, Herring Gull, Mew Gull, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, and American Pipit, while a significant pulse of moderate to very heavy flights occurred in the East and featured Brant, Bufflehead, Surf Scoter, American Coot, Bonaparte’s Gull, Hermit Thrush, Lapland Longspur, American Tree Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, and Swamp Sparrow.

Early and late period migration conditions will be favorable for light to moderate flights in the West that feature Sharp-shinned Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Western Meadowlark, Golden-crowned Sparrow, and Fox Sparrow, while the passage of a significant frontal boundary brings moderate to very heavy flights of Cooper’s Hawk, Franklin’s Gull, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Brown Creeper, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Savannah Sparrow, Le Conte’s Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and White-throated Sparrow to the East.

Hurricane Nate came ashore in Mississippi late Saturday night and early Sunday morning. Although this storm did not pack the strong winds or very heavy rains of recent hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico or Caribbean, all such storms are…

Pulses of moderate movements that feature Cackling Goose, Western Grebe, Herring Gull, Northern Flicker, American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and White-crowned Sparrow will be the norm for the first half of the period in the West, while late period moderate to very heavy flights featuring Cooper’s Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, Marsh Wren, Sedge Wren, Gray Catbird, Pine Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Eastern Towhee, and Nelson’s Sparrow will occur in the East after the passage of the remnants of Hurricane Nate. Hurricane Nate will bring the potential for Gulf of Mexico pelagic species far inland in the first half of the period.

Moderate flights that featured Snow Goose, Greater Scaup, Eared Grebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, and Golden-crowned Sparrow were the norm in many areas of the West this week, while several pulses of heavy flights occurred in the East and featured Ruddy Duck, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Rusty Blackbird, Fox Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Harris’s Sparrow, and Purple Finch.

Favorable migration conditions from mid weekend through the middle of the work week bring light and moderate flights featuring Greater White-fronted Goose, Cooper’s Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Black-bellied Plover, Townsend’s Warbler, and Lincoln’s Sparrow to the West this period, while moderate to very heavy flights that feature Swainson’s Hawk, American Golden-Plover, Northern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, Blue-headed Vireo, Palm Warbler, and Magnolia Warbler grace the East for the first half of the period in advance of less favorable migration conditions building in many areas later in the period.