Dickcissels on the move!
So why?
Well reason #1 (and the only reason): Drought!
Check out the current USA drought monitoring map:
beyond extreme!
They're getting baked out of the south. Dickcissels are being reported left-right and centre in Ohio, which is probably going to continue to spill over into Ontario a bit. If you live in the SW part of the province, check out those weedy hay fields and maybe you'll get lucky.
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So what else can we look forward to? It's tough to say. Some things I've noticed:
Neotropic Cormorants are currently in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Illinois (2!).... Are they getting baked out of the SW too? Could we expect more in Ontario into the summer? Would be nice.
Little Blue Herons have been on the move as well... One was reported a few days ago in Michigan, and several adults have been reported from Ohio. Bill Whan posted on Ohio-birds that during a huge drought in 1930, 1100+ Little Blue Herons were reported in the state in July and August! However, all of those were white juvenile birds, unlike the adults being reported now.
So yeah, I don't really know what it means, other than we have some hope for a good to great flight of waterbirds from the south in their annual post-breeding dispersal... I've never seen a Little Blue Heron in Ontario, so it would be nice to find one!
Come on LBHE's! Let's just hope they all don't get stuck in the typical water levels of Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee and Ohio.....
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Not much else to report. Aside from my little jaunt to Amherst on the weekend, I've been intentionally trying to just complete my work (breeding bird surveys) and then relax and head back to the hotel/cottage etc. This time of year is fairly slow for rarities, and I'll just re-charge my batteries for later in the summer!
Speaking of "summer", it's a great time for birding in Ontario- because it doesn't really exist. While winter locks us in an icy grip for 6-8 weeks every year, we can thankfully totally avoid summer and get right back to fall migration.
A recent report from Alan Wormington sheds light on the situation: (Amherst Island): 3 White-rumped Sandpipers and 2 Lesser Yellowlegs together. The White-rumps are going north to breed, but those darn Yellowlegs are already migrating south! To heck with summer! In a few weeks, I'll bring out some old data on how exciting early shorebird migrants can be!
Hey Brandon, as you're probably aware a north-and-eastward movement of Cassin's Sparrows occurred this spring resulting in several first state records...this was also thanks to the severe drought across a large swath of their lower 48 breeding range. That's another one to watch for in Ontario and nearby.
ReplyDeleteNeotropic Cormorants have been increasingly regular vagrants north of their typical range in recent years, mostly in late summer (nice find by you this spring, by the way!). Not sure if this year's records are a result of the drought or not, but it could very well be. We'll see what happens the rest of the summer!
Here on the east coast we get Dickcissel as an uncommon fall migrant, with numbers varying from year to year. It'll be interesting to see what the summer movements mean for fall records around here.
Hey Nick,
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about those Cassin's Sparrows! Although I wasn't sure if there would be any continued movement in the summer/fall (?) Sure would be a nice bird to see/find. !
I noticed you had some photos of Anhinga on your blog, which was another species I was curious about. I know some decent numbers occurred northwards into Kentucuky, with another record in Michigan. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens! I know I'm already getting itchy to do some "fall" birding after working most of June.
Brandon