Snow Bunting. Pam Rasmussen/Macaulay Library. eBird S40046338.

Continental Summary

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.

Curious what birds will move next? Check out our forecast.

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Need a review of our definitions for regions, species on the move, and migration amounts? Please visit this link.

Quick Links to Regions

Upper Midwest and Northeast	Gulf Coast and Southeast
Great Plains	West

Upper Midwest and Northeast

Moderate coastal flights kicked off the weekend, while a frontal passage across the Mississippi River brought the next wave of moderate to heavy flights into the Upper Midwest. As the front stalled, flights continued in the Upper Midwest and all but shut down to the east. By Wednesday night the front had passed off the Atlantic Coast, with moderate to locally heavy flights in its wake. This frontal boundary also captured numerous migrants in its flow, creating a major transport of Neotropical migrants, similar to what has occurred in previous years and to what may occur again next week, in portions of New England and the Canadian Maritimes. Early reports included numbers of Yellow-billed Cuckoo, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Hooded Warbler, Summer Tanager, and Indigo Bunting among others. We will provide an update on this system during the week of 30 October.

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 Tree Sparrow,334%,3.4
Dark-eyed Junco,103%,24.8
Bufflehead,358%,2.1
Fox Sparrow,143%,3.8
American Coot,65%,7.5
Snow Bunting,1576%,1
Ring-necked Duck,93%,3.3
Hooded Merganser,106%,2.6
Gadwall,57%,6.4
Common Loon,53%,5.3
Bonaparte’s Gull,76%,3.6
Red-breasted Merganser,85%,2.3
White-throated Sparrow,19%,34
Pine Siskin,60%,3.9
Common Goldeneye,190%,0.7
Common Redpoll,3236%,0.4
Red-tailed Hawk,16%,16.7
Horned Grebe,87%,1.8
Rough-legged Hawk,232%,0.6
Surf Scoter,55%,3.2
Red-winged Blackbird,10%,26
Lesser Scaup,65%,1.7
Herring Gull,11%,17
Common Grackle,14%,12.8
Red Crossbill,150%,0.6

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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 Yellowthroat,-95%,0.4
Gray Catbird,-87%,2.5
Eastern Phoebe,-63%,7.9
Palm Warbler,-64%,4.9
House Wren,-93%,0.4
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,-58%,3.9
Blue-headed Vireo,-69%,1.8
Eastern Towhee,-36%,8
Nashville Warbler,-91%,0.2
Northern Flicker,-29%,20.5
Lincoln’s Sparrow,-60%,2.3
Tennessee Warbler,-100%,0
Wood Duck,-33%,7.5
Ruby-crowned Kinglet,-27%,18.1
Swainson’s Thrush,-96%,0.1
Great Egret,-36%,6.2
Yellow-rumped Warbler,-18%,28.2
Chimney Swift,-120%,-1
Marsh Wren,-61%,0.8
Blue-winged Teal,-52%,1.5
Osprey,-44%,2.6
Indigo Bunting,-109%,-0.3
Black-throated Green Warbler,-110%,-0.3
Swamp Sparrow,-20%,13.2
Chipping Sparrow,-18%,10.4

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Franklin’s Gull. James Reiman/Macaulay Library. eBird S40105756.

Gulf Coast and Southeast

Scattered light to moderate flights are the norm for Friday and Saturday. But the arrival of a strong frontal boundary brought favorable migration conditions in its wake, with moderate to locally heavy flights widespread across the region to the west of the Mississippi River on Sunday night. These flights expanded to the entire region on Monday and Tuesday nights before diminishing in extent (and altitude) on Wednesday night. Thursday night saw a return of marginal and unfavorable migration conditions and generally low intensities of movements across the region. An exception was west Texas where more favorable conditions allowed moderate flights to continue.

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-throated Sparrow,476%,8.1
Golden-crowned Kinglet,531%,7.2
Yellow-rumped Warbler,268%,22
Swamp Sparrow,320%,8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet,125%,21.1
Savannah Sparrow,203%,6.8
Hermit Thrush,332%,3.4
Song Sparrow,108%,11.2
Tree Swallow,123%,7
Winter Wren,290%,2.8
Palm Warbler,65%,26.6
Gadwall,172%,3.6
Eastern Phoebe,53%,39.8
American Coot,79%,8.2
White-crowned Sparrow,139%,2.3
Eastern Meadowlark,68%,6.4
Orange-crowned Warbler,81%,5.1
Wilson’s Snipe,110%,2.6
Greater White-fronted Goose,298%,1.2
Red-tailed Hawk,39%,12.4
American Kestrel,42%,13.7
Franklin’s Gull,544%,0.7
Double-crested Cormorant,31%,18.1
Pied-billed Grebe,41%,11.1
Vesper Sparrow,140%,1.4

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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

Magnolia Warbler,-70%,2.4
American Redstart,-54%,7.2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird,-63%,3.3
Tennessee Warbler,-67%,1.6
Brown Thrasher,-37%,11.3
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher,-57%,2.2
Summer Tanager,-71%,1.1
Yellow Warbler,-97%,0.1
White-eyed Vireo,-36%,9
Northern Parula,-37%,6.4
Swainson’s Hawk,-86%,0.2
Eastern Wood-Pewee,-50%,3
Black-throated Blue Warbler,-47%,2.9
Hooded Warbler,-64%,0.8
Wilson’s Warbler,-68%,0.6
Rose-breasted Grosbeak,-51%,1.3
Nashville Warbler,-49%,1.3
Blue Grosbeak,-61%,0.6
Chimney Swift,-108%,-0.4
Black-and-white Warbler,-19%,8.3

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Brown Creeper. Wilmer Fernandez/Macaulay Library. eBird S39913878.

Great Plains

A quiet Friday night yielded to a much more active Saturday night as a cold front passed over the region. Moderate to locally heavy flights followed in the front’s path. Alternating nights of light to moderate flights punctuated the remainder of the period between generally favorable or marginal migration conditions and unfavorable southerly flow (for example on Wednesday). The greatest extents of these flights occurred on Monday night, although more localized flights were also noticeable on Tuesday and Thursday nights in the southern 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

American Tree Sparrow,495%,9.6
Dark-eyed Junco,101%,33.6
Ring-necked Duck,135%,7.6
Rough-legged Hawk,459%,3.2
Song Sparrow,56%,17.4
Brown Creeper,95%,4.3
Lesser Scaup,100%,4
Red Crossbill,95%,3.4
Ring-billed Gull,26%,21.7
Harris’s Sparrow,45%,11.7
Redhead,48%,6.8
Gadwall,38%,13
Fox Sparrow,100%,2.7
Lapland Longspur,133%,2.1
Bufflehead,63%,3.8
Snow Goose,85%,2.1
American Goldfinch,18%,22.5
Common Redpoll,4579%,0.4
Mallard,14%,22.2
American Wigeon,27%,7.6
Common Goldeneye,263%,0.3
Cackling Goose,86%,1.9
Golden-crowned Kinglet,57%,3.2
Eared Grebe,54%,2.6

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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

Turkey Vulture,-80%,5.2
Orange-crowned Warbler,-87%,1.9
Eastern Phoebe,-79%,2.4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet,-65%,6.7
Vesper Sparrow,-77%,1.4
Franklin’s Gull,-51%,11.1
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher,-88%,0.6
Blue-winged Teal,-75%,1.9
Mourning Dove,-50%,13.2
Spotted Towhee,-76%,1.4
Great Egret,-63%,3.2
Blue-headed Vireo,-96%,0.1
Osprey,-56%,3
Great Blue Heron,-32%,15.1
Nashville Warbler,-110%,-0.7
House Wren,-111%,-0.6
Sedge Wren,-73%,0.8
Brown Thrasher,-90%,0.2
Clay-colored Sparrow,-105%,-0.2
Barn Swallow,-110%,-0.6
Eastern Meadowlark,-42%,5.1
Common Grackle,-33%,8.6
Chimney Swift,-128%,-1.2
Savannah Sparrow,-37%,6.9
Greater White-fronted Goose,-59%,1.4

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American Wigeon. Cathy Reader/Macaulay Library. eBird S39965001.

West

Scattered light to moderate flights were the norm for the region in this period. Saturday and Monday nights saw the greatest extents of these flights, mostly from locations in the Pacific Northwest, the Central Valley, and the Desert Southwest. The Central Valley saw regular nightly movement for the period, a typical pattern for this location. Note, also, that Monday night’s flight included some movements in the Great Basin.

Top Movers

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

Bufflehead,385%,6.7
Surf Scoter,70%,5.4
Lesser Scaup,91%,3.6
Cackling Goose,62%,6.4
Dunlin,93%,3
Hooded Merganser,87%,2.8
Western Grebe,39%,11
Red-breasted Merganser,180%,1.2
Bonaparte’s Gull,89%,1.8
American Wigeon,28%,13.8
Canvasback,93%,1.5
Herring Gull,64%,3
Bald Eagle,35%,6.4
Common Loon,44%,4.1
Snow Goose,64%,1.9
Ring-billed Gull,21%,10.7
Ring-necked Duck,29%,7.3
Glaucous-winged Gull,33%,5.6
Common Merganser,31%,3.5
Clark’s Grebe,48%,2.2
Pacific Loon,62%,1.6
Horned Grebe,36%,3.9
Ruddy Duck,21%,9.2
American Pipit,25%,7.4
European Starling,8%,25.3

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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

Yellow Warbler,-99%,0
Black-throated Gray Warbler,-77%,0.7
Orange-crowned Warbler,-46%,5.4
Chipping Sparrow,-45%,2.9
Wilson’s Warbler,-89%,0.3
Common Yellowthroat,-41%,4.2
Turkey Vulture,-38%,8.2
Barn Swallow,-73%,0.8
Blue-winged Teal,-46%,1.4
Cassin’s Kingbird,-36%,2.5
Pectoral Sandpiper,-73%,0.3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher,-34%,2.4
Red-breasted Nuthatch,-14%,11.6
Townsend’s Warbler,-27%,4.2
Western Tanager,-73%,0.3
Long-billed Dowitcher,-31%,2.3
House Wren,-19%,5.4
Osprey,-27%,2.9
Elegant Tern,-47%,0.6
Common Grackle,-50%,0.4
Cinnamon Teal,-24%,2.2
White-faced Ibis,-29%,1.5
Violet-green Swallow,-50%,0.4

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