An unusual number of Hooded Warblers were found on Long Island and vicinity today, in conjunction with Blue Grosbeaks and Summer Tanagers--and also seasonally early examples of female Indigo Buntings and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. In contrast, the migrant species typically most abundant at this date--Myrtle & Palm Warblers, Savannah & White-throated Sparrows, etc.--were present in at best modest numbers at Long Island's migrant traps today. This disparity is the signature of a slingshot event, set in motion days ago and hundreds of miles away, with the displacement of trans-Gulf migrants over the Atlantic.
Please be sure to report or eBird all Hooded Warblers seen in coastal New York, so that an accurate total can be tabulated. Whereas most rare-scarce warblers in southeastern NYS tend to occur during the biggest spring flights of common warblers, Hooded and Prothonotary tend to occur here in association with grosbeaks and tanagers, on otherwise slow days. For a discussion of slingshots and different kinds of spring flights, see: http://www.nybirds.org/KBsearch/y2005v55n3/y2005v55n3p213-227mitra.pdf# Shai Mitra Bay Shore -- NYSbirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsWELCOME.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsRULES.htm http://www.NortheastBirding.com/NYSbirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/nysbirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/NYSBirds-L 3) http://birding.aba.org/maillist/NY01 Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
