Red-throated Loon. Richard Aracil/Macaulay Library. eBird S40354041.

Continental Summary

Local light to moderate flights were scattered across the West and feature numerous waterfowl in this late season period, while the pulses of moderate flights in the Great Plains and Southeast featured many species of waterfowl, Turkey Vulture, Bonaparte’s Gull, Eastern Bluebird, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Cedar Waxwing, and Dark-eyed Junco.

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Upper Midwest and Northeast	Gulf Coast and Southeast
Great Plains	West

Upper Midwest and Northeast

Local light and moderate movements punctuated an otherwise increasingly quiet late season period. Most notable flights occurred on Friday and Monday in the mid Atlantic and Sunday and Wednesday in the Midwest.

Top Movers

[expand title=”Increasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,desc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Increase from Last Week[attr style=”color:green”],% of Checklists Reporting

Common Goldeneye,211%,6.8
Bufflehead,96%,18.9
Hooded Merganser,102%,13.6
Common Merganser,70%,6.9
Tundra Swan,163%,3.8
Red-breasted Merganser,62%,6.9
Horned Grebe,71%,5.6
Ring-billed Gull,13%,30.1
Red-throated Loon,56%,4.1
Long-tailed Duck,59%,3.8
Common Loon,18%,10.1
Canvasback,70%,1.6
Mallard,9%,35.2
Lesser Scaup,30%,4.4
Ring-necked Duck,17%,6.5
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,31%,4
American Black Duck,10%,10
Ruddy Duck,10%,7.9
Horned Lark,15%,2
Snow Bunting,12%,2.3
Redhead,11%,2.9
Belted Kingfisher,6%,11.1
Snow Goose,10%,1.7[/table]
[/expand]

[expand title=”Decreasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,asc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Decrease from Last Week[attr style=”color:red”],% of Checklists Reporting

Yellow-rumped Warbler,-51%,9
Chipping Sparrow,-71%,1.9
Ruby-crowned Kinglet,-61%,4.2
Red-winged Blackbird,-46%,9
Greater Yellowlegs,-71%,1.4
American Robin,-35%,22.5
Wood Duck,-55%,3
Double-crested Cormorant,-38%,12.8
Dunlin,-57%,2.3
Golden-crowned Kinglet,-43%,8.9
White-crowned Sparrow,-66%,1.6
Common Grackle,-48%,4.1
Swamp Sparrow,-45%,4.7
Great Egret,-66%,1.3
Green-winged Teal,-43%,3.9
Turkey Vulture,-34%,10.3
White-throated Sparrow,-20%,23
Song Sparrow,-22%,22
Killdeer,-44%,3.3
Purple Finch,-49%,1.2
Northern Pintail,-44%,2.2
Hermit Thrush,-39%,2.9
American Crow,-9%,41.7[/table]
[/expand]

Hooded Merganser. Dan Vickers/Macaulay Library. eBird S40417590.

Gulf Coast and Southeast

Pulse of moderate to locally heavy movements occurred on several occasions during the period, representing arrivals of some of the last pulses of wintering and passage migrants into and through the region. Particularly widespread were movements on Friday night, primarily east of the Mississippi River. Sunday and Wednesday nights saw more westerly distribution of these movements, albeit in lesser intensities. Light to locally moderate movements ended the period, with flights from Texas east through the Atlantic coastal plains.

Top Movers

[expand title=”Increasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,desc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Increase from Last Week[attr style=”color:green”],% of Checklists Reporting

Hooded Merganser,357%,6
Bufflehead,688%,5.1
Lesser Scaup,269%,6.6
Ring-billed Gull,132%,13.1
Dark-eyed Junco,118%,8.1
Common Loon,227%,3.2
Bonaparte’s Gull,253%,2.2
American Robin,44%,15.7
American Goldfinch,54%,11.2
Ring-necked Duck,77%,6.5
Red-breasted Merganser,516%,1.3
Horned Grebe,296%,1.5
Canvasback,172%,1.9
Redhead,89%,3.8
Ruddy Duck,75%,5.2
Hermit Thrush,54%,7.1
Orange-crowned Warbler,45%,10.9
Cedar Waxwing,87%,3.1[/table]
[/expand]

[expand title=”Decreasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,asc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Decrease from Last Week[attr style=”color:red”],% of Checklists Reporting

Barn Swallow,-91%,0.4
Gray Catbird,-33%,10.4
Common Grackle,-31%,8.7
Northern Rough-winged Swallow,-69%,0.6
Brown Thrasher,-27%,5.5
Eastern Meadowlark,-21%,5.8
Brown-headed Cowbird,-23%,4
Long-billed Dowitcher,-33%,1.2
Broad-winged Hawk,-73%,0.1
Black-and-white Warbler,-24%,3.3
Indigo Bunting,-34%,1.5
White-faced Ibis,-33%,1.1[/table]
[/expand]

Eastern Bluebird. Charlotte Croshaw/Macaulay Library. eBird S40397930.

Great Plains

A quiet start to the weekend eventually yielded to a pulse of moderate flights in the central and southern Plains on Sunday night. A similar pulse occurred on Wednesday night, with slightly greater intensities in the southern Plains. But, aside from flights in these areas, the region was generally quiet from a migration perspective probably at the hands of date of season and multiple passing disturbances with precipitation.

Top Movers

[expand title=”Increasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,desc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Increase from Last Week[attr style=”color:green”],% of Checklists Reporting

Common Goldeneye,617%,14.6
Horned Grebe,344%,11.2
Bufflehead,147%,19.4
Common Merganser,315%,5.5
Red-breasted Merganser,222%,3.9
Golden-crowned Kinglet,99%,5.7
Lesser Scaup,46%,13.8
Black Scoter,320%,3
Mallard,24%,38.1
Canvasback,51%,8.5
Barrow’s Goldeneye,18806%,1.8
Eastern Bluebird,21%,19.3
American Coot,21%,22.2
Carolina Wren,20%,17.1
Wood Duck,76%,3.9
Belted Kingfisher,33%,10.3
Canada Goose,15%,35.7
Cackling Goose,34%,8.3
Common Loon,35%,6.4
Red-shouldered Hawk,48%,4.9
Eared Grebe,57%,2.9
Turkey Vulture,133%,2.8
American Kestrel,20%,11.5
Great Blue Heron,13%,19.7[/table]
[/expand]

[expand title=”Decreasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,asc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Decrease from Last Week[attr style=”color:red”],% of Checklists Reporting

American Wigeon,-50%,4.3
Chipping Sparrow,-68%,1.4
Eastern Meadowlark,-65%,1.8
Killdeer,-46%,6.7
Green-winged Teal,-45%,5.7
Savannah Sparrow,-61%,2.2
Northern Pintail,-49%,3.5
Greater Yellowlegs,-72%,0.7
American Avocet,-93%,0.1
Northern Shoveler,-34%,9
Cooper’s Hawk,-51%,2.4
Gadwall,-27%,11.6
Double-crested Cormorant,-20%,17.1
Pine Siskin,-36%,4
American Robin,-17%,26.4
Merlin,-55%,0.9
Wilson’s Snipe,-50%,1.3
Marsh Wren,-82%,0.2
Mourning Dove,-21%,11.6[/table]
[/expand]

Brant. Paul Fenwick/Macaulay Library. eBird S40459582.

West

The period was generally quiet, with several significant weather systems and the late season date keeping migration at minima. One notable exception, as is typical for the date and the region, occurred in California. Saturday and Tuesday nights saw light to moderate flights in the Central Valley, where movements often continue in similar intensity to these late season dates.

Top Movers

[expand title=”Increasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,desc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Increase from Last Week[attr style=”color:green”],% of Checklists Reporting

Common Goldeneye,387%,10.6
Lesser Scaup,35%,6.9
Common Merganser,39%,5.8
Heermann’s Gull,43%,3.2
Barrow’s Goldeneye,71%,1.6
Bufflehead,24%,16.3
Snow Goose,36%,4.2
Brant,148%,1
Lesser Goldfinch,14%,15.5
Canvasback,26%,3
Hooded Merganser,22%,6.8
Red-breasted Merganser,26%,2.9
Pacific Loon,30%,2.1
American Coot,8%,24.9
Herring Gull,19%,3.6
Tundra Swan,26%,1.9
Loggerhead Shrike,18%,3.2
Sandhill Crane,18%,2.6
Bald Eagle,8%,7.7
Peregrine Falcon,11%,3.2
Rough-legged Hawk,12%,2[/table]
[/expand]

[expand title=”Decreasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,asc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Decrease from Last Week[attr style=”color:red”],% of Checklists Reporting

Fox Sparrow,-19%,7.3
Tree Swallow,-55%,0.5
Bewick’s Wren,-16%,11.7
Western Sandpiper,-34%,1.3
Song Sparrow,-13%,25.2
Elegant Tern,-74%,0.2
Western Meadowlark,-18%,6.7
Savannah Sparrow,-20%,5.4
Belted Kingfisher,-15%,10.2
Golden-crowned Sparrow,-14%,13.8
Western Grebe,-16%,9.1
Killdeer,-16%,10
Brown Creeper,-19%,4
Red-breasted Nuthatch,-14%,9.4
Wood Duck,-22%,2.2
Red-necked Grebe,-29%,1.3
Least Sandpiper,-17%,3.8
Green-winged Teal,-13%,8.2
Horned Grebe,-17%,3.6
Brown-headed Cowbird,-28%,1.1
Black-necked Stilt,-17%,2.7
Long-billed Dowitcher,-20%,2.1[/table]
[/expand]

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Farnsworth and Van Doren