Category Archives: Migration

Rare in Time or Place

Migration, Water and Shore
Greater yellowlegs, Duck Hollow, 30 Oct 2022 (photo by Lisa Kaufman)

31 October 2022

Birds are considered rare when they show up at a time or place that’s unusual for them. The rarest are the birds out of place, two of which we saw yesterday at Duck Hollow.

The surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) first seen at Duck Hollow by John Flannigan on 26 October was still present on the 30th. Autumn is the right time of year to find a surf scoter migrating through Pennsylvania but Pittsburgh is a rare place to find one. Surf scoters nest in Alaska and northern Canada and spend the winter at the coasts.

We saw the scoter yesterday drifting downstream beyond the Homestead Grays Bridge in a view similar to Michelle Kienholz’s photo below. This dark and distant duck with a ‘Roman nose’ and some white on its head/face was a Life Bird for many in the group. (Click here for a better photo by Justin Kolakowski.)

Surf scoter at Duck Hollow, 26 Oct 2022, 5:44pm (photo by Michelle Kienholz)

Our favorite rare bird of the day was the greater yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) that we heard before we found him. Greater yellowlegs had never been recorded at Duck Hollow in autumn and rarely show up in Allegheny County even in spring. They nest in Canada and Alaska and spend the winter near the US southern coasts and in Central and South America.

When we heard his call (similar to audio below) we went down to the shore to find him.

Greater and lesser yellowlegs are similar but our bird’s vocalization, his slightly upturned beak and his behavior were diagnostic.

Generally walks with high-stepping gait; occasionally runs with neck extended. Movements rapid and jerky.

— Birds of the World, Greater Yellowlegs

Lisa Kaufman took many photos of him.

The Duck Hollow outing was a success even though we saw only 21 species. Here’s our list.

Duck Hollow, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, US
Oct 30, 2022 8:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling, 1.0 mile
21 species, 9 participants.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 12
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) 1 Continuing bird, drifting down stream when we saw it
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 5
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 2
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) 1 photos by participant Lisa Kaufman
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 3
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 2
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 2
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 1
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 5
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa) 1
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 1
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 5
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 16
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 4
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) 11
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 4
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 5

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S121573064

(photos by Lisa Kaufman and Michelle Kienholz)

From Warblers to Sparrows

Migration, Songbirds
Third northern parula, Frick Park, 14 Oct 2022 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

17 October 2022

In just two days the mix of songbirds at Frick Park changed from warblers to thrushes and sparrows.

On Friday 14 October Charity Kheshgi and I found three northern parulas (Setophaga americana) along Nine Mile Run at Frick Park. eBird said they were worthy of a Rare Bird Alert. Fortunately Charity got photos of all three, shown in the slideshow below with three photos of each. Two of them are very easy to tell apart because they are at the extremes of bright vs. pale colors.

  • 1. First northern parula, Frick Park, 14 Oct 2022 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

On Saturday night migration was intense which often means that all the birds leave Pittsburgh. Instead, on chilly Sunday morning we found a new mix of songbirds including those pictured below.

Blue headed vireo, Frick Park, 16 Oct 2022 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Golden-crowned kinglet, Frick Park, 16 Oct 2022 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Hermit thrush, Frick Park, 16 Oct 2022 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Gray-cheeked thrush, Frick Park, 16 Oct 2022 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

There were many more American robins [50 instead of 7] and white-thoated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis) [36 instead of none] and we even heard a fox sparrow (Passerella iliaca) (example below). I wish we could have seen it.

Meanwhile we’re still waiting for dark-eyed juncos but not the snow that comes with them.

Waiting For Snowbirds But Not For Snow

(photos by Charity Kheshgi)

Birds Love Water Features

Migration, Songbirds
Western bluebird bathing, California (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

14 October 2022

Songbirds are attracted to water — to streams, puddles, marshes, ponds — especially on migration.

Watch a soothing video of birds enjoying the water in Richard Hall’s backyard in Athens, Georgia.

Want to set up your own water feature? Here are three resources.

(photo from Wikimedia Commons, embedded tweet by @richhallecology)

Very Special Fall Hummingbirds

Migration, Songbirds
Rufous hummingbird in winter in Michigan, 27 Dec 2011 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

12 October 2022

Eastern North America has only one hummingbird, the ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), but in late fall after the ruby-throats have left for the tropics a few western hummingbirds come east.

Rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) breed in the Pacific Northwest to Alaska and spend the winter along the Gulf Coast and in Mexico. Their range map says they don’t occur in the eastern U.S., not even on migration.

Rufous hummingbird range map from Wikimedia Commons (orange=breeding, lavender=winter range) Yellow lines added by Kate St. John

However, beginning in late October, a few show up in Pennsylvania. Some even reach the Atlantic Coast. An eBird map of rufous hummingbird reports from October to February, 2019-2022, shows them dotted across the eastern U.S.

Rufous hummingbird eBird reports, Oct-Feb 2019-2022 (screenshot from eBird Species Map)

So don’t take down your hummingbird feeders yet. Watch for a very special rare hummingbird — so rare that ornithologists will want to band it(*).

See a closeup of a banded rufous hummingbird, learn about their habits, and find out about the even rarer Allen’s hummingbird at:

October (and November) Hummingbirds

(*) Information on who to call in Pittsburgh if you get a rufous hummingbird at your feeder is in the article above.

(photo and range map from Wikimedia Commons; screenshot map of eBird reports; click on the captions to see the originals)

Ruby Kings

Migration, Songbirds
Ruby-crowned kinglet (photo by ChristopherT)

11 October 2022

As the September wave of migrating warblers disappears to our south the next wave of birds has arrived from the north, among them ruby-crowned kinglets (Corthylio calendula). These tiny dynamos resemble the plainest warblers and vireos but are so unique that it’s worth taking a closer look at them.

For starters, though ruby-crowns are called kinglets they are no longer in the same genus as golden-crowned kinglets (Regulus satrapa). In 2021, thanks to DNA and some very unique traits, the AOS placed them in a genus all their own: Corthylio.

Smaller than any warbler, ruby-crowned kinglets are olive-green with somewhat whitish bellies. Their most reliable trait is their constant wing-flicking, punctuated by rapid darting to and fro. They also have:

  • Two white wingbars,
  • Big white eyerings broken above and below,
  • A tiny beak
  • No neck
  • A proportionally larger head compared to the look of a warbler
  • Thin black legs with golden feet
  • A dry call note and a rousing song
  • Males have red or orange feathers hidden atop their heads which they raise when agitated.

On any particular bird you may never see a ruby crown. The females don’t have them and the males are not always agitated. However if you keep watching, a bird may come close to watch you, then raise his crown when he figures out who you are. Maybe this curious ruby-crown is female.

Ruby-crowned kinglet, golden slippers (photo by Steve Gosser)

Ruby-crowned kinglets are short-distance migrants that breed in spruce-fir forests in Canada and the northern/mountainous U.S. They spend the winter in southeastern Pennsylvania but are rare in western PA outside of migration. October is the time to see them in Pittsburgh.

Range of ruby-crowned kinglet (map from Wikimedia Commons)

Learn about these energetic birds in an 8-minute video by Lesley The Bird Nerd. Watch for the wing-flicking!

(photos by ChristopherT and Steve Gosser, map from Wikimedia Commons)

Hurricane Pushed Birds to Scotland

Climate Change, Migration
Yellow-rumped warbler (“Myrtle warbler”), US, 2018 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

9 October 2022

There was much excitement in British birding this week when two yellow-rumped warblers (Setophaga coronata) and a first-ever least bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) were sighted in the Shetland Islands, the northern tip of Scotland.

Both species are found only in the Americas but all three birds crossed more than 2,200 miles of the North Atlantic non-stop, likely forced offshore from the Canadian Maritimes or Newfoundland to escape Hurricane Fiona, the strongest hurricane ever recorded in Canada.

Possible origin & definite destination of 3 North American vagrants to The Shetlands, 5-7 October 2022 (map from Wikimedia Commons; markup by Kate St. John)

Fiona made landfall in Nova Scotia on 24 September.

Track of Hurricane Fiona, 2022 (map from Wikimedia Commons)

The birds were found more than 10 days later in the Shetlands on 5-7 October. It is hard to imagine their ordeal. The yellow-rumped warblers seem fine but the least bittern was exhausted and underweight and was taken to rehab where it died overnight.

Catch the excitement of seeing birds far from home in these tweets from British birders.

I am impressed that the warblers gravitated to the only trees in the landscape. This is similar to warbler behavior at Magee Marsh in May when they are found in small patches of trees — the only trees among miles of marsh and farmland.

The least bittern was found hunched on the shore, not in good shape. It died that night in rehab.

9 October 2022. There’s more: A first-ever Empidonax flycatcher in Ireland and a Baltimore Oriole in Devon, UK. Unfortunately the Baltimore oriole was eaten by a sparrowhawk (an Accipiter).

15 October 2022: Blackburnian warbler at Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall UK

(photo from Wikimedia Commons; embedded tweets)

Chimney Swifts Go Back To Bed

Bird Behavior, Migration
Chimney swifts from Crossley ID Guide via Wikimedia Commons

3 October 2022

Migrating chimney swifts roost for the night in local chimneys and wake up when the sky glows before dawn. This morning the sun had not yet cleared the horizon when the swifts flew out of Cathedral Mansions chimney and circled the chimney over and over again, testing the air. It was 41 degrees F.

Though the sky is clear this morning and the wind is from the north, the swifts (probably) decided there were not enough bugs flying so there would be nothing to eat on their way south. They would be cold and hungry if they left now but the bugs will come out as the day warms up. They decided to wait for that to happen.

So they all went back to bed. Here’s a photo of them pouring back into the chimney. (They are just dots in my cellphone photo.)

Chimney swifts re-enter Cathedral Mansions chimney to wait for the day to warm up, 3 Oct 2022, 7:22am (photo by Kate St. John)

(photos from Wikimedia Commons and by Kate St. John)

Winter Finches Already!

Migration
Male red crossbill in hemlock, Jan 2013 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

27 September 2022

If you’re birding on the coast of Maine you already know this is a good year for winter finches, but I’d just arrived from Pittsburgh so I was surprised to hear jip-jip-jip among the conifers last Saturday in Acadia National Park. Was I hearing crossbills? Yes!

The Finch Network’s Winter Finch Forecast 2022-2023 explains:

In eastern North America, there is a good food crop along the coastal areas of Maritime Provinces southward into New England, which should hold many finches this winter.

Spruce cones are everywhere at Acadia, littering the trails in various stages of ripeness from sappy to seedless.

Spruce cones at various stages, Flying Mountain, Acadia National Park, 25 Sept 2022 (photo by Kate St. John)

Small groups of red crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) are almost everywhere, too. If you know what to listen for the birds are easy to find on Mount Desert Island.

Lots of people are seeing and hearing them as shown in eBird’s September 2022 map below. Note that the high density of crossbill reports is actually due to the high density of birders in the park.

Red crossbill species map, 26 September 2022 (map from eBird)

On Sunday at Flying Mountain I saw eight red crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) eating spruce cones. This 2013 photo on a hemlock shows how they feed:

  • Use feet to grab the cone,
  • Use crossed beak to twist open the seed shield,
  • Lick the seed out of the pocket.
Male red crossbill feeding on hemlock cone, grabbing with feet (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

The Winter Finch Forecast 2022-2023 predicts that points south along the coast will see crossbills this winter.

The “Northeastern Crossbill” (i.e. eastern Type 10) will be around this winter, but will they migrate down the coast to Long Island, Cape May and Delaware and points south, as they sometimes do as cone crops are depleted as we progress through the winter season.

— Winter Finch Forecast 2022-2023

Though Pittsburgh won’t see crossbills, check out the Winter Finch Forecast 2022-2023 for what we can look forward to in western Pennsylvania. If we’re lucky we may see:

  • Common and hoary redpolls
  • Purple finches
  • Evening grosbeaks, certainly in PA’s northern tier
  • Red-breasted nuthatches
  • And a big year for blue jays.

(photos from Kate St. John and Wikimedia Commons, map from eBird.org; click on the captions to see the originals)

Intense Migration Forecast for Tonight

Migration
Sunset and birds (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

22 September 2022

Tonight’s BirdCast Migration Forecast shows there will be intense migration from Michigan down to Mississippi and Georgia. The flocks will fan out east and west, touching southwestern Pennsylvania.

Birdcast migration forecast for the night of 22 Sept 2022 (map from BirdCast)

If you go birding on Friday 23 September, expect to find warblers and thrushes still passing through and an increasing variety of sparrows. Watch for the skulkers – Connecticut and mourning warblers — in late September. Perhaps you’ll see the last of the flycatchers, some of which are already considered “rare” now in eBird.

Friday’s sun and northwest wing will also encourage broad-winged hawks to migrate during the day. Keep an eye to the sky or visit a hawk watch in your area. Hawk watch locations and data are listed at hawkcount.org.

Broad-winged hawk on migration (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Check out the migration forecast and lots of migration tools at BirdCast.

Friday will be great day to go birding.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons, map screenshot from Birdcast; click on the captions to see the originals)

Bird Calls in the Dark

Migration, Vocalizations
Swainson’s thrush, May 2019, Toronto, ON (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

18 September 2022

If you’re awake one to two hours before dawn on a calm September night, put your ear to the sky and you may hear birds calling overhead in the dark.

Millions of birds migrate at night and call in flight to maintain contact with their fellow travelers. In the one-to-two hours before dawn they begin their descent and are easier to hear but it takes dedication or insomnia to be awake during those prime sleeping hours.

Fortunately with the advent of microphones, recording devices and sonogram technology, ornithologists and amateurs have recorded nocturnal flight calls (NFC) and can identify who’s calling as they fly by. The sonograms are like fingerprints for each species and can be compared at this quick reference website, NocturnalFlightCalls.com, announced this month by Tessa Rhinehart at the University of Pittsburgh’s @KitzesLab.

Many calls, especially those of warblers, are so high-pitched that they are outside my range of hearing so here are three examples of some easily audible nocturnal flight calls.

The Swainson’s thrush (Catharus ustulatus), above, has such a distinctive flight call that you can identify it in the dark by sound. All About Birds describes the call as a hollow peep that resembles the call of a spring peeper frog.

The rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) repeats a single rough whistle.

Rose-breasted grosbeak (photo by Cris Hamilton)
Rose-breasted grosbeak (photo by Cris Hamilton)

Click here for a clearer version of the rose-breasted grosbeak flight call that was “photo-bombed” by a killdeer.

Though it is extremely unlikely to hear a dickcissel (Spiza americana) fly over Pennsylvania, this sound is so distinct that it’s worth a listen.

Dickcissel singing in western PA, 10 June 2017 (photo by Anthony Bruno)
Dickcissel singing in western PA, 10 June 2017 (photo by Anthony Bruno)

Leanr more about nocturnal flight calls at Nocturnal Flight Call FAQs from David Brown. He recorded dickcissels during the 2017 irruption over Montoursville, PA.

Make your own NFC recorder using a microphone, a dinner plate, a bucket and a computer. Instructions and information at Nemesis Bird’s Night Flight Call primer. (This article may be as old as 2012.)

Know which nights will be good for listening by checking BirdCast’s migration forecast.

(photos from Wikimedia Commons, Cris Hamilton and Anthony Bruno; recordings embedded from Xeno Canto)