Continental Summary

A busy week of migration featured light to moderate flights across much of the West, featuring Cackling Goose, Dunlin, Black Tern, Vaux’s Swift, Tree Swallow, Black-headed Grosbeak and Fox Sparrow, and heavy flights to begin and end the period in the East, featuring some huge movements of American Redstart among other species such as Broad-winged Hawk, Chimney Swift, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, American Pipit, Palm Warbler, Northern Parula and White-crowned Sparrow.

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Quick Links to Regions

Upper Midwest and Northeast	Gulf Coast and Southeast
Great Plains	West

Upper Midwest and Northeast

A large flight occurred to kick off the weekend, including some heavy and very heavy flights in the Mississippi River valley and the coast of New England. These flights included a massive movement of birds at the Tribute in Light in New York City. Flights decreased in intensity and extent as high pressure returned to the region, with movements becoming more localized. But this decrease did not occur until after a massive morning flight event occurred in Cape May (see this site). Scattered light to moderate movements persisted in the region for the remainder of the period. Note, however, that Thursday night saw the next big pulse of heavy and very heavy flights in the Upper Midwest behind a low pressure system’s 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
Northern Parula,72%,10.5
Palm Warbler,67%,7.2
Black-throated Green Warbler,40%,14.3
Sharp-shinned Hawk,65%,6.1
Black-throated Blue Warbler,50%,6.5
Broad-winged Hawk,74%,4.5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet,82%,2.1
Blackpoll Warbler,24%,8.4
Magnolia Warbler,21%,18.1
Philadelphia Vireo,34%,5.2
Pine Warbler,46%,5.7
Yellow-rumped Warbler,38%,5.1
Northern Flicker,15%,34.8
Lincoln’s Sparrow,77%,1.7
Northern Mockingbird,28%,11.1
Chimney Swift,30%,18.2
Black-and-white Warbler,20%,15.7
Nashville Warbler,18%,9.6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak,20%,11
Prairie Warbler,54%,2.6
Merlin,27%,5.3
Eastern Phoebe,17%,20.4
Brown Thrasher,21%,6.9
American Pipit,231%,0.5
Carolina Wren,17%,23.2

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[expand title=”Decreasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,asc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Decrease from Last Week[attr style=”color:red”],% of Checklists Reporting
Buff-breasted Sandpiper,-77%,0.3
Baird’s Sandpiper,-63%,0.5
Green Heron,-32%,6.8
Least Sandpiper,-30%,6.1
Warbling Vireo,-28%,6.7
Solitary Sandpiper,-34%,3
Semipalmated Sandpiper,-31%,3.7
Spotted Sandpiper,-30%,4.2
Western Sandpiper,-62%,0.3
Purple Martin,-82%,0.1
American Golden-Plover,-46%,1.5
Short-billed Dowitcher,-44%,0.9
Killdeer,-18%,14.1
Sora,-40%,0.9
Semipalmated Plover,-24%,5.1
Barn Swallow,-25%,6.6
Caspian Tern,-39%,3
Olive-sided Flycatcher,-45%,0.4
Black Tern,-56%,0.3
Great Crested Flycatcher,-23%,3.9
Eastern Kingbird,-29%,2.2
Sandhill Crane,-32%,2.4
Lesser Yellowlegs,-19%,6.1
Stilt Sandpiper,-26%,1.4
White-rumped Sandpiper,-42%,0.5

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Gulf Coast and Southeast

A busy weekend of moderate to heavy flights across the region included some particularly active movements in the southern Appalachians, the southeastern coastal Plain and Florida, and also the western Gulf Coast. But by Monday night, moderate and locally heavy movements were much reduced in their spatial extents, a pattern that largely continued for the remainder of the week.

Top Movers

[expand title=”Increasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,desc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Increase from Last Week[attr style=”color:green”],% of Checklists Reporting
American Redstart,84%,22.1
Magnolia Warbler,91%,9.3
Palm Warbler,766%,3
Black-throated Blue Warbler,180%,5
Tennessee Warbler,83%,7.2
Common Yellowthroat,60%,13.8
Swainson’s Thrush,103%,4.5
Cape May Warbler,159%,3.3
Gray Catbird,59%,11.7
Northern Waterthrush,66%,7
Black-and-white Warbler,39%,14.7
Ovenbird,65%,7.2
Philadelphia Vireo,307%,1.2
Eastern Phoebe,32%,14.7
Yellow-throated Warbler,46%,9.5
Merlin,141%,1.3
Scarlet Tanager,49%,5.6
Northern Flicker,44%,8.5
Veery,58%,3.5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet,353%,0.6
Northern Parula,33%,15.7
Blue-headed Vireo,86%,2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak,68%,2.1
Brown Thrasher,24%,16
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[expand title=”Decreasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,asc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Decrease from Last Week[attr style=”color:red”],% of Checklists Reporting
Common Nighthawk,-58%,2.2
Upland Sandpiper,-75%,0.4
Black Tern,-52%,1.1
Ring-billed Gull,-53%,1.1
Baird’s Sandpiper,-59%,0.4
Wilson’s Snipe,-69%,0.3
Pectoral Sandpiper,-41%,2.4
Barn Swallow,-29%,11.5
Spotted Sandpiper,-32%,4.6
Semipalmated Sandpiper,-36%,2.4
Western Sandpiper,-29%,2.3
Mississippi Kite,-39%,1.3
Buff-breasted Sandpiper,-40%,1.2
Lesser Yellowlegs,-28%,2.7
Western Kingbird,-67%,0.2
Semipalmated Plover,-21%,4.4
Least Sandpiper,-18%,7.1
Least Tern,-42%,0.8
Green Heron,-16%,11
Western Wood-Pewee,-74%,0.1
Killdeer,-15%,16.7
Lark Sparrow,-28%,1.7
Bank Swallow,-25%,1.7
Dickcissel,-43%,1.3
Bell’s Vireo,-51%,0.3

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Great Plains

Pulses of movements occurred within the region during much of the period, with few nights of consistently favorable conditions across the Plains. Early weekend saw flights in the southern Plains of light to moderate intensity; the northern and central Plains saw similarly intense movements during much of the workweek. In general, conditions aloft included precipitation and marginal winds, making most movements scattered and more localized. However, Thursday night saw a more extensive and intense movement, the first widespread flight of the week for the region with moderate to heavy flights prevailed from the Dakotas south through Oklahoma.

Top Movers

[expand title=”Increasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,desc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Increase from Last Week[attr style=”color:green”],% of Checklists Reporting
White-crowned Sparrow,509%,3.2
Chimney Swift,106%,18.9
White-throated Sparrow,86%,4
Dark-eyed Junco,116%,2.4
Lincoln’s Sparrow,55%,6.4
Eastern Phoebe,43%,16.3
Yellow-rumped Warbler,36%,9.2
Nashville Warbler,29%,13.3
Chestnut-collared Longspur,-1565%,0.8
Eastern Bluebird,27%,19.5
Turkey Vulture,24%,39.9
Harris’s Sparrow,-564%,0.4
Indigo Bunting,25%,10.1
Magnolia Warbler,17%,3.3
Osprey,23%,6.9
Summer Tanager,25%,4.8
White-eyed Vireo,44%,2.5
Eastern Meadowlark,105%,3.9
Tennessee Warbler,24%,3.8
Blue Jay,11%,51.5
Northern Flicker,12%,33.2
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[expand title=”Decreasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,asc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Decrease from Last Week[attr style=”color:red”],% of Checklists Reporting
Baltimore Oriole,-69%,3.4
Buff-breasted Sandpiper,-95%,0.1
Black Tern,-67%,1.8
American Avocet,-83%,0.6
Eastern Kingbird,-64%,3.7
Mississippi Kite,-61%,2.5
Bell’s Vireo,-71%,0.8
Cliff Swallow,-70%,1.4
American Coot,-57%,4.4
Western Kingbird,-88%,0.3
Willow Flycatcher,-75%,0.4
Olive-sided Flycatcher,-48%,1.9
Green-winged Teal,-66%,1.2
Pectoral Sandpiper,-51%,2.1
Semipalmated Sandpiper,-48%,1.8
Forster’s Tern,-45%,2.7
Common Nighthawk,-30%,6.1
Warbling Vireo,-29%,9.5
Blue-winged Teal,-24%,11.5
Yellow Warbler,-36%,8.1
Spotted Sandpiper,-35%,4.2
Barn Swallow,-17%,25.1
Wilson’s Phalarope,-39%,1.9
Black-crowned Night-Heron,-61%,0.6
Orchard Oriole,-67%,0.5

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West

Light to moderate flights were apparent from the Pacific Coast east across the region through the Rockies to kick off the weekend. By Sunday night, however, most movement was centered west of the Sierras or east of the Rockies, as less favorable conditions including precipitation arrived in the intermontane west and Desert Southwest. Another later week pulse of scattered light to moderate flights, similar interrupted across the region by precipitation, was a harbinger of a more extensive end of the week movement that saw light to moderate flights return to much of the region.

Top Movers

[expand title=”Increasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,desc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Increase from Last Week[attr style=”color:green”],% of Checklists Reporting
Golden-crowned Sparrow,78%,3.3
Eared Grebe,34%,6
Fox Sparrow,53%,2.3
Cackling Goose,151%,0.6
Red-shouldered Hawk,52%,7.1
Dunlin,99%,0.7
American Wigeon,23%,5.4
Say’s Phoebe,16%,8.9
White-crowned Sparrow,11%,17.3
Long-billed Dowitcher,27%,4.4
Green-winged Teal,20%,8.7
Vaux’s Swift,92%,5
Tree Swallow,81%,3.7
Ring-necked Duck,29%,1.7
Merlin,30%,1.4
Ruddy Duck,14%,5.7
Western Grebe,14%,5
Parasitic Jaeger,27%,1.5
Horned Grebe,28%,1.5
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[expand title=”Decreasing” tag=”h3″]
[table sort=”,asc” tablesorter=”true”]
Species,Decrease from Last Week[attr style=”color:red”],% of Checklists Reporting
Black-headed Grosbeak,-51%,2.4
Virginia’s Warbler,-67%,0.3
Common Nighthawk,-65%,0.4
Chipping Sparrow,-35%,6.3
Western Wood-Pewee,-28%,4.8
Willow Flycatcher,-32%,3
Olive-sided Flycatcher,-45%,0.6
Western Tanager,-26%,9.7
Black Tern,-74%,0.1
Warbling Vireo,-30%,6.7
Rufous Hummingbird,-34%,2
Hooded Oriole,-44%,1.3
Gray Catbird,-35%,1.6
Western Kingbird,-36%,1.9
Cassin’s Vireo,-38%,1.2
Broad-tailed Hummingbird,-29%,2.6
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Farnsworth and Van Doren