Change in weather, for the better
When I last posted on April 30th, I mentioned that east winds were in the forecast and we would see a poor migration in southern New England as long as that pattern held. Well, that pattern held for about 9 days and as a result the birding has been dreadful for the time of year. Not that I care much, I've been busy working :)
As of today, the weather has changed, and winds with a westerly component now dominate the forecast, alternating between SW and NW depending on what side of the fronts we're on. Last night featured some movement into CT, and tonight is looking even better depending on where exactly the rain is. So we should expect to see a huge uptick in migrants and returning breeders (you can't get any worse than it's been lately!) with your typical ebbs and flows depending on the exact wind/weather setup.
As for me, this year I've rejoined my friends on the Big Day team after sitting out last year. Much of my birding will be focused on scouting for this, but I do hope to enjoy a morning or two in search of migrant passerines. Our scouting thusfar has been limited to early breeders and nest-searching. It has been slow but very fulfilling at times. The feeling of finding a hawk nest after a couple hours of tracking them can be addictively rewarding. I will continue to be insanely busy at work over the next week, but hope to supplement that with birding in bits and pieces. Back in 2011 we had an oustanding day and set a state record of 192 species which still stands, but we're determined to crack 200 someday. With quite a bit of luck and effort, maybe this will be the year.
- Nick
As of today, the weather has changed, and winds with a westerly component now dominate the forecast, alternating between SW and NW depending on what side of the fronts we're on. Last night featured some movement into CT, and tonight is looking even better depending on where exactly the rain is. So we should expect to see a huge uptick in migrants and returning breeders (you can't get any worse than it's been lately!) with your typical ebbs and flows depending on the exact wind/weather setup.
As for me, this year I've rejoined my friends on the Big Day team after sitting out last year. Much of my birding will be focused on scouting for this, but I do hope to enjoy a morning or two in search of migrant passerines. Our scouting thusfar has been limited to early breeders and nest-searching. It has been slow but very fulfilling at times. The feeling of finding a hawk nest after a couple hours of tracking them can be addictively rewarding. I will continue to be insanely busy at work over the next week, but hope to supplement that with birding in bits and pieces. Back in 2011 we had an oustanding day and set a state record of 192 species which still stands, but we're determined to crack 200 someday. With quite a bit of luck and effort, maybe this will be the year.
- Nick
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