Date: 3/27/25 1:46 pm From: Lucy & Bob Email via groups.io <RobertADuncan...> Subject: [ALbirds] A primer on early migration for new birders
Hi all,
Early Neotropical passerine migrants have been moving through for the last several days. Parula, Prothonotary, Hooded and Black & White Warblers and Louisiana Waterthrushes and White-eyed Vireos. These species have populations that winter in both the West Indies and Central and South Am. Early in the season, March, early April, most of these arrivals are from the Indies. Why? Early migrants doing Trans-Gulf migration risk encountering strong cold fronts and adverse winds in the Gulf of Mexico. Better to winter in the Indies and move up the Florida Peninsula or eastern Gulf where land is down below or not far. Later in the season when the Bermuda High is in position giving them SE or S tail winds is a better deal. Populations of these same species move up later.
Rain, the key ingredient for putting birds down in the immediate coastal area, occurred on the 24th and sure enough, Lucy and I had several migrants of the above species in our yard. This was not a classic Fallout (trees dripping with birds). This is a rare event with fewer birds each year as populations decline, but enough to put some down.
So watch the forecast and hit the migrant traps when rain is forecast.
