Date: 3/27/25 3:30 pm From: Cynthia Freeman via groups.io <Cynthiafreeman633...> Subject: Re: [ALbirds] A primer on early migration for new birders
Thanks Bob, great summary for us newer birders.
Cynthia
Cynthia L Freeman
256.328.6331
On Thu, Mar 27, 2025 at 3:46 PM Lucy & Bob Email via groups.io
<RobertADuncan...> wrote:
> 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.
>
> Bob Duncan
> Gulf Breeze, FL
>
>
>
>
> --
> Lucy and Bob Duncan
> Gulf Breeze, Florida
>
>
>
