Date: 11/4/24 3:15 pm From: Galveston Ornithological Society <galornsoc...> Subject: RE: [NFLbirds] Late migrants continue
I have a different take on this.
We on the Texas Coast got GOBS of songbird migrants after Florida’s unfortunate hurricanes and it was surely attributed to the east-to-west winds ahead of the storms.
However, as I still have nonwintering warblers, etc., in my yard, and yall as well, I believe this is because of the virtual absence of cool fronts in October. I’m sure you folks have noticed this. In my graduate work for Fran James at FSU, I was seeing cool fronts every 4-5 days. And you can bet I was there on those days!
Should we be concerned about the lack of north winds during the fall neotropical migration? You damn right we should. I recorded between a dozen and twenty species of warblers per day back then, often with hundreds of warbler migrants a day. How long has it been since…?
What we need is political will and leadership to make the environment a real priority.
Jim in Galveston
From: <nflbirds...> <nflbirds...> On Behalf Of Lucy and Bob Duncan
Sent: Monday, November 4, 2024 4:53 PM
To: Nflbirds <nflbirds...>; Albirds <albirds...>
Subject: [NFLbirds] Late migrants continue
Hi all,
Reports from Dean & Sally Jue from Tallahassee, another from Cantonment about 20 mi N of Pensacola and from what we have had in our yard today and yesterday (5 thrushes of 3 spp and other passerine migrants) indicate unusual numbers of late migrants still coming through. I suggest they were delayed in their normal progress by Hurricane Helene which drenched the Appalachians during the height of Fall migration. With this strong E influence we have had for about a week, I suggest they are reaching the coast and then moving W to LA and crossing the Gulf from there or making a complete circum-Gulf transit to the tropics. Hopefully they will NOT attempt a direct movement with the storm headed toward the Yucatan Channel tomorrow.
