Is Migration Over, and a recap


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Posted by Toe on 09:41:53 10/11/13

With mid-level winds out of the north and northing to stop them, looks like we may miss the mid-October push of birds we call Octoberfest. If this is the case, then from what I see this was a very lame fall migration for us here in Dade. Here is the recap for all the county based on what was reported to prove it:

Good migrants we did see in Dade:

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher - 1, about what can be expected
Philadelphia Vireo 1, most falls there are a few reported
Wood Thrush 1, never common but usually more than one
Blue-winged Warbler 2
Tennessee very few, much less than normal
Nashville Warbler 1
Chestnut-sided Warbler a couple
Blackburnian Warbler 3, I've seen that many at one park
Cerulean Warbler 2
Hooded Warbler very few, like 4 or 5 total
Kentucky Warbler 3
Wilson s Warbler 1

Here are the ones we missed altogether in Dade, which is why I say it was so lame:

Black-billed Cuckoo 0, none reported in FL that I know of
Warbling Vireo - 0, same as above. Maybe in the Panhandle
Bell s Vireo - 0, Trey and I had 3 at LH and Annex one morning
Golden-winged Warbler 0, a lot of them along Gulf coast
Townsend s Warbler 0
Black-throated Gray Warbler 0
Bay-breasted Warbler 0. This is just sad, not one Bay-breasted
Mourning Warbler 0, not a big deal since they don't exist
MacGillivray s Warbler 0
Canada Warbler 0, came close, but didn't cross the border
Western Tanager - 0, I've had it as a yard bird!

In summary, we missed all the really good migrants except for a couple, and the numbers for the good ones we did get were lower than usual. Numbers for the more common species seemed lower for most. BTBs and Redstarts are trash birds most falls, with 100+ being seen in one location being common. Not so this fall. Rangel is doing a big county year and chased many of the above birds. He can testify to just how slow this fall has been. Some of the ones he was counting on just haven't shown up like other years.

Something else that's missing is a Mega-rarity. Almost every fall there is one exciting bird to chase. Sulfur-bellied Flycatcher, Northern Wheatear, Cuban Pewee, Yellow-green Vireo, etc. Nothing in Dade this year so far. Notice I said in Dade. Broward, you stole our rarity! I hope we didn't use up all our good karma last winter with all those rarities.



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