Black-and-white Warbler. Derek Gibbons/Macaulay Library. 16 Apr 2016. eBird S29274829

Continental Summary

Light to moderate flights, primarily in the Desert Southwest and the eastern Rockies, were the highlights of the week in the West and featured Wilson’s Phalarope, Vaux’s Swift, Western Wood-Pewee, Hammond’s Flycatcher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Yellow Warbler, Hermit Warbler, Summer Tanager, Western Tanager, and Lark Sparrow, while moderate to heavy flights featuring Mississippi Kite, Willet, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Western Kingbird, Gray Catbird, Bay-breasted Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Blue Grosbeak, Dickcissel, and Baltimore Oriole were extensive in many areas of the East.

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

[animation name=”22-29-april-2016-analysis”]

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

Light to moderate movements on the fringes of the region on Friday night gradually intensified and became more extensive by Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. However, a quickly passing cold front shut down most movements by Tuesday night, with the exception of light flights in the Upper Midwest an locally moderate and heavy flights in Virginia. Similarly scattered flights occurred for the remainder of the period, largely distributed in areas where precipitation did not shut down movements and winds were slightly more favorable than forecast. This pattern of movements was particularly evident in the Ohio River Valley.

Top Movers

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

Baltimore Oriole,2267%,7.5
Yellow Warbler,393%,17.3
Rose-breasted Grosbeak,3426%,7.9
Gray Catbird,703%,18.9
Nashville Warbler,1144%,5
Wood Thrush,375%,8.4
Northern Waterthrush,389%,5.8
Warbling Vireo,503%,8.1
Indigo Bunting,674%,5.8
Black-throated Green Warbler,416%,5.9
Blue-winged Warbler,467%,5.3
Common Yellowthroat,183%,13.3
Orchard Oriole,380%,4.8
Black-and-white Warbler,196%,11.3
House Wren,124%,20.2
Chimney Swift,135%,11.2
Great Crested Flycatcher,631%,4.1
Black-throated Blue Warbler,2774%,2.3
Scarlet Tanager,322%,4.5
Red-eyed Vireo,204%,6.3
Ovenbird,207%,8.6
Swainson’s Thrush,1937%,2.3
Spotted Sandpiper,160%,8.2
Eastern Kingbird,206%,5.9

[/table]
[/expand]

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

Golden-crowned Kinglet,-59%,1.3
Dark-eyed Junco,-47%,6.7
Bufflehead,-46%,3.6
Northern Shoveler,-47%,2.7
American Tree Sparrow,-63%,0.9
Brown Creeper,-45%,2.4
Ring-necked Duck,-51%,2
American Coot,-37%,4.6
Green-winged Teal,-40%,3.1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,-33%,4.2
Lesser Scaup,-46%,1.5
Wilson’s Snipe,-41%,2.4
Fox Sparrow,-53%,0.3
Blue-winged Teal,-30%,6.8
Ruddy Duck,-38%,1.9
American Wigeon,-54%,0.7
Pied-billed Grebe,-27%,4.1
Red-breasted Merganser,-35%,2.3
Northern Gannet,-71%,0.1
Gadwall,-37%,1.9
Rusty Blackbird,-33%,2.3
Sandhill Crane,-33%,3.4
Horned Grebe,-32%,1

[/table]
[/expand]

Great Crested Flycatcher. Charles Lyon/Macaulay Library. 24 Apr 2016. eBird S29213262

Gulf Coast and Southeast

Moderate to heavy movements were aloft primarily west of the Mississippi River on Friday and Saturday nights in advance of a more widespread regional moderate to heavy flight on Sunday. Similar intensity and extent continued on Monday and Tuesday nights. An approaching cold front arrived on Wednesday, but its effects were limited as it became disorganized upon approach to the Gulf Coast; moderate and locally heavy flights continued in many areas. The period ended with primarily moderate flights west of the Mississippi River and more locally intense flights in the coastal Carolinas, Georgia, and portions of the Florida Peninsula.

Top Movers

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

Mississippi Kite,252%,5.8
Yellow Warbler,88%,8.3
Dickcissel,97%,4.7
Magnolia Warbler,91%,4
Bay-breasted Warbler,225%,1.3
Bobolink,93%,2.1
Great Crested Flycatcher,31%,25.4
Western Kingbird,49%,4.5
Least Flycatcher,137%,1.2
Yellow-breasted Chat,42%,5.6
Chestnut-sided Warbler,46%,4.6
Chimney Swift,25%,19.5
Painted Bunting,33%,9.2
Acadian Flycatcher,41%,3.6
White-rumped Sandpiper,89%,0.7
Groove-billed Ani,454%,0.4
Eastern Wood-Pewee,25%,7.6
American Redstart,28%,10
Yellow-billed Cuckoo,29%,9.2
Red-eyed Vireo,21%,19.7
Rose-breasted Grosbeak,17%,11.4
Eastern Kingbird,21%,14.7
Canada Warbler,57%,0.8

[/table]
[/expand]

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

Ruby-crowned Kinglet,-52%,4.1
Worm-eating Warbler,-50%,3.1
White-throated Sparrow,-35%,8.6
Swamp Sparrow,-48%,1.5
Caspian Tern,-47%,1.6
Pied-billed Grebe,-40%,3.6
Merlin,-62%,0.6
Blue-winged Teal,-30%,7.7
Marbled Godwit,-59%,0.6
Forster’s Tern,-35%,4
Blue-winged Warbler,-41%,2
Sedge Wren,-61%,0.5
Brown Pelican,-29%,9.1
Belted Kingfisher,-32%,4.2
Hermit Thrush,-65%,0.4
Orange-crowned Warbler,-47%,1.2
Prairie Warbler,-32%,4.9
Sora,-35%,2.4
Royal Tern,-31%,5.2
Marsh Wren,-36%,2.3
Yellow-headed Blackbird,-57%,0.7
Palm Warbler,-29%,6.4
Lincoln’s Sparrow,-33%,2.3
Northern Shoveler,-45%,1.3

[/table]
[/expand]

Blue Grosbeak. Clancy Deel/Macaulay Library. 27 Apr 2016. eBird S29242817

Great Plains

Moderate to locally heavy flights spanned the region on Friday and Saturday nights but generally came to a quick end on Sunday with the passage of a strong frontal boundary; some light to moderate flights lingered in the southern Plains. A return of moderate flights to the central and southern Plains on Monday night was also a flash in the pan, as intense storms associated with another frontal boundary shut down the system on Tuesday. The remainder of the period saw scattered light to locally moderate flights in the northern and southern extremes of the region, as conditions for widespread flights were not favorable.

Top Movers

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

Baltimore Oriole,430%,17.3
Great Crested Flycatcher,912%,10.2
Western Kingbird,560%,10.5
Swainson’s Thrush,419%,11.9
Nashville Warbler,1063%,9.8
Indigo Bunting,706%,9.3
Dickcissel,830%,5.6
Yellow Warbler,12174%,5.8
Eastern Kingbird,235%,15.7
Clay-colored Sparrow,387%,6
Gray Catbird,1515%,4.4
Red-eyed Vireo,223%,8.3
Warbling Vireo,136%,9.9
House Wren,110%,14.7
Tennessee Warbler,1797%,2.9
Summer Tanager,276%,5.9
Orchard Oriole,504%,3.7
Willet,164%,7
Black-and-white Warbler,241%,6.4
Ruby-throated Hummingbird,336%,5.2
Blue Grosbeak,4919%,2.7
Orange-crowned Warbler,64%,14.1
Palm Warbler,328%,2.7
Bell’s Vireo,-710%,1.9
Rose-breasted Grosbeak,2224%,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

Dark-eyed Junco,-77%,1.2
Wilson’s Snipe,-63%,1.8
Fox Sparrow,-96%,0.1
Ring-necked Duck,-62%,2.1
Gadwall,-40%,8.3
Northern Shoveler,-31%,15.9
Western Meadowlark,-37%,11.7
American Coot,-30%,16.8
Green-winged Teal,-37%,5.4
American Wigeon,-42%,3.7
Say’s Phoebe,-67%,0.7
Bufflehead,-47%,2.5
Brown Creeper,-70%,0.5
Lesser Scaup,-39%,4.1
Northern Harrier,-40%,3.2
Greater Roadrunner,-59%,0.6
Vesper Sparrow,-35%,4.2
Pied-billed Grebe,-23%,10.3
Double-crested Cormorant,-18%,15.8
Rock Wren,-73%,0.1
Ruddy Duck,-28%,5.9
California Gull,-67%,0.2
Mallard,-12%,28

[/table]
[/expand]

Western Wood-Pewee. Jeff Bray/Macaulay Library. 25 Apr 2016. eBird S29199517

West

Scattered precipitation kept most movements of migrants similarly scattered and light for the first days of the period. Note, however, the moderate flights occurring east of the Rockies on Friday night. Tuesday night saw the first more intense flight, primarily in California and the Desert Southwest, where light to moderate movements were underway. But these flights never reached greater intensity or extent elsewhere in the region during the period, as conditions for migration remained generally marginal or unfavorable. There were, however, light to moderate flights in portions of Montana and the southern Rockies to end the work 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

Vaux’s Swift,190%,5.9
Western Tanager,124%,6.4
Western Wood-Pewee,151%,3.2
Spotted Sandpiper,108%,6.8
Bank Swallow,139%,3.3
Lazuli Bunting,66%,4.5
Brown-crested Flycatcher,169%,1.4
Brown-headed Cowbird,40%,16.2
Wilson’s Warbler,41%,13.7
Warbling Vireo,45%,5.8
Yellow Warbler,48%,8.5
Wilson’s Phalarope,88%,2.1
Black-headed Grosbeak,41%,11.2
Barn Swallow,30%,21.2
Lark Sparrow,42%,5.5
Dusky Flycatcher,115%,1.5
Hermit Warbler,88%,1.6
Townsend’s Warbler,55%,3.3
Green-tailed Towhee,57%,3.2
Hammond’s Flycatcher,136%,1.8
Summer Tanager,55%,2.8
Yellow-breasted Chat,54%,2.5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow,31%,15.1
Cliff Swallow,25%,14.6

[/table]
[/expand]

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

Greater Yellowlegs,-38%,3.5
Bufflehead,-30%,7.3
Golden-crowned Sparrow,-27%,5.3
Marbled Godwit,-36%,2
American Wigeon,-21%,6.8
Brant,-37%,0.7
Ring-necked Duck,-19%,5.3
Green-winged Teal,-18%,7.6
Common Goldeneye,-32%,1.7
Common Loon,-26%,2.9
Greater Scaup,-33%,0.8
American Bittern,-50%,0.6
Greater White-fronted Goose,-37%,0.8
Northern Shoveler,-15%,10.5
White-crowned Sparrow,-13%,19.2
Black-bellied Plover,-26%,1.2
Pinyon Jay,-49%,0.3
Lesser Scaup,-16%,4.6
Mountain Bluebird,-18%,2.8
Wilson’s Snipe,-23%,2.1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet,-17%,5.2
Northern Pintail,-17%,3.5
Herring Gull,-44%,0.3
Surfbird,-43%,0.2
Cackling Goose,-19%,1.5

[/table]
[/expand]

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Farnsworth and Van Doren