From: crail@nevada.edu (DONNA CRAIL-RUGOTZKE)
Subject: Re: Are you having a late, slow migration?
Organization: University of Nevada System Computing Services
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 02:05:23 GMT

In article <BvGLJu.Czw@zoo.toronto.edu> tony@zoo.toronto.edu (Anthony L. Lang) writes:
>Fall migration around Toronto, Ontario, Canada has been very slow
>this fall.  Numbers of all species have been way down and things
>seem to be about a week late.  We can't estimate what has
>been happening to shorebirds (Scolopacidae and Charadriidae)
>in the area, because the water levels
>are so high this fall and therefore there is no habitat.  However,
>the numbers of Broad-winged Hawks (Buteo platypterus) have been
>down.  The numbers of other non-passerines and passerines
>also seems to be down.  The migration monitoring observatories on
>the Toronto Islands (Lake Ontario) and at Long Point (on Lake
>Erie about 200 km sw of Toronto) have corroborated this
>They have been catching and censusing 30 to 50 % fewer birds
>than average.  I haven't heard any data on the relative 
>composition of age classes to see whether the low numbers are
>due to a lack of hatch year birds, however.  This will be
>best assessed by the observatories because they net birds and
>examine them in the hand (before banding/ringing them)
>and the hawk watches at Whitby (Lake Ontario), Port Stanley
>(Lake Erie) and Holiday Beach (Lake Erie near the Detroit
>River).  Once the season is over they will be able to have a better 
>at the data.  Today, however, was the first big day of banding
>at the Toronto Bird Observatory.  We had 11 nets open from
>0715 to 0915 EDT and caught about 80 birds.  There were plenty
>more birds that we didn't catch, but we spent the rest of the
>morning processing these birds before running off to teach or
>work.  In general on the small island there were dozens of GOLDEN-
>CROWNED KINGLETS (Regulus satrapa), fewer RUBY-CROWNED
>KINGLETS (R. calendula), lots (terms used are relative to
>the counts of an average day at this time of year)
>HERMIT THRUSHES (Catharus
>guttatus), a few YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS (Dendroica coronata),
>more than the usual number of PALM WARBLERS 
>(Vermivora palmarum), lots of NASHVILLE
>WARBLERS (V. ruficapilla), and a few individals of 12 other
>species of warblers.  The sparrows (Emberizidae: Emberizinae)
>do not seem to have peaked yet.  The number of WHITE-THROATED
>SPARROWS (Zonotrichia albicollis) have been low for this time
>of year as have been the other sparrows that we normally
>catch: LINCOLN'S SPARROWS (Melospiza lincolnii) and SWAMP
>SPARROWS (M. georgiana).
>However, there were a few earlier flycatchers still: 
>some Empidonax flycatchers, but only one EASTERN PHOEBE 
>(Sayornis saya), a later migrant.  We also had a couple of 
>DARK-EYED JUNCOS (Junco hyemalis), a little bit early,
>and smattering of other species.  An exceptionally
>early bird at Toronto, however, was a COMMON REDPOLL (Carduelis
>flammea) at the beginning of September.  So, it seems
>that there are exceptions to my general statement that
>migration is late.  
>
>What have other people been seeing this fall?
>Is the migration completely off in its numbers and timing?
>Are there fewer hatch year birds than normal?
>Did a lot of birds not breed and leave early?
>Did a lot of birds breed late and leave late?
>-- 
>Anthony Lang
>Dept. of Zoology, Univ. of Toronto
>tony@zoo.utoronto.ca

Both spring and fall migration have been slow here (Las Vegas).
At the Henderson Sewage Ponds (south of Vegas), we have had quite
a few migratory shore birds.  So far I have seen Lesser Yellowlegs
(Tringa flavipes), Semipalmated Plovers (Charadrius semipalmatus),
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa), Stilt Sandpiper (Micropalama
himantopus), Pectoral Sandpipers (Calidris melanotos), Sanderlings
(Calidris alba), Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri), and Least
Sandpipers (Calidris mintilla).  I saw most of these birds between
the end of August and September.  Other bird watchers have seen
Red Knots (Calidris canutus) and Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis
squatarola) at the same ponds.  I wonder if it has been unusually
warm this fall (it is still in the high '90's here) or if 
a lot of habitat is being destroyed.


Donna
crail@nevada.edu