After two warm springs in 2016 and 2017 and a mix of normal and warm springs in the several years prior to that, we were due for a cold and snowy spring in 2018. With around 65 inches of snow from January 22 thru April 15 in eastern Carver County, I was able to salvage March and early April with satisfying birding. By no means were birds numerous during that time. For the most part duck numbers were poor. By the time the shallow Rapids Lake finally cleared completely of ice on April 27, most ducks had bypassed the area for the spring. Considering the lack of open water for much of the spring, I actually thought I did pretty well for waterfowl. It was back to a year with poor Snow and Greater White-fronted Geese for me, but this area does better with those species during warmer springs. Tundra Swan numbers were good, though. Despite the cold spring, a brief early warmup the first few days of March did lead to the earlier than normal arrival of some species including Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, Fox Sparrow, and Song Sparrow. For March and most of April I kept looking at the forecast for the upcoming week with disappointment, as it was obvious that birds were going to be delayed. The only promising thing I took from the weather early this spring is that the weather south of the Ohio River was more favorable for migration in March and April, and birds were on the move. They just weren't getting terribly far to the north. Following the large mid-April snowstorm in the area, temperatures finally returned closer to normal by the final 1/3 of the month, and most snow(except piles) was melted by April 22. The first larger surge of passerine migrants arrived the 2nd week of April, but the main thrust of passerine migration didn't begin until the final week of April, moreso the final 2 days. Even Field Sparrow, which normally arrive in full numbers by the end of the 2nd week of April, didn't arrive in full numbers until April 30. Once the weather turned at the end April the gates really opened, and migration began in earnest. Warbler species variety and numbers were much better the first 1/3 of May this year than either of the warm springs of 2016 or 2017. This is likely because most of the nights, beginning in late April through mid-May, had moderate to strong winds from the south aiding in migration. There were also a few well-timed early morning rains that likely led to birds landing here that otherwise may have overflown the area. Generally, totals for most warbler species this spring were very good. Including all warbler species my total this spring is up 21.5% compared to last year. Excluding counts of the common Yellow, Redstart, and Yellowthroat, the total is up 17% compared to last year. Compared to the mediocre to poor springs of 2015 and 2016, the 2018 totals are 3-4 times higher than those years. There were outstanding numbers of many warbler species, but there were a few declines this year compared to last year. Following the great fall last year for Winter Wren, this spring was good for the species as well. While Golden-crowned Kinglet numbers were very good, Ruby-crowned numbers were closer to average. Blue-headed Vireo numbers were very good, but Philadelphia Vireo numbers were not. Swainson's Thrush numbers were great, and other thrush species were average. Migrant sparrow numbers were a bit more promising this spring. White-throated Sparrow and Lincoln's Sparrow numbers were very good, and White-crowned Sparrow numbers were not dismal. Fox and Harris's Sparrow numbers were poor once again, though. With the earlier onset to migration in May than last year, migration came to an end slightly earlier as well. The most unusual birds this spring were Swainson's Hawk and Louisiana Waterthrush at Rapids Lake, White-eyed Vireo and Louisiana Waterthrush at Carver Park Reserve, and American Bittern at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. With the river trail at Rapids Lake flooded from late April through most of May, this is the first year I did not bird along the river during the prime spring migration period in over 10 years. I spent a lot more of my time west of Rapids Lake. At Carver Park Reserve, I only covered areas in the southern half of the park(south of Cty. Rd. 11) often walking 7-8 miles of trails each day I was out. I spend very little time in the northern half of the park(closer to the nature center) now. I don't think I've been in that area of the park in the last 2 years. I began hitting my hiking limit by around May 15, and it took a little more effort to get myself out after that. I did not go out after May 25, but migration was coming to an end at that point. From April 27 through May 25, I spent around 110 hours in the field and walked a total of about 123.75 miles(not including doubling back but that was kept to a minimum, may have added 10-15 miles).
Warbler species seen each day followed by cumulative migrant warbler count with 2008-2017 average spring count in parenthesis(excluding Yellow, Yellowthroat, and Redstart) and a comparison to spring 2017 totals following that. April 13 1 (first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the spring) April 29 4 (first day of spring to see a warbler species other than Yellow-rumped) April 30 7 May 1 5 May 2 10 May 3 8 May 4 9 May 5 10 May 6 11 May 7 14 May 8 17 May 9 23 May 10 12 (short walk) May 11 19 May 12 21 May 13 19 May 14 21 May 16 20 May 18 14 May 19 14 May 20 14 May 22 9 May 23 9 May 25 10 Ovenbird 70 (31) (112% increase from spring 2017) Louisiana Waterthrush 3 (less than 1) (0 were seen spring 2017) Northern Waterthrush 82 (30) (67% increase from spring 2017) Golden-winged Warbler 25 (12) (56% increase from spring 2017) Blue-winged Warbler 89 (50) (39% increase from spring 2017) Black-and-white Warbler 92 (39) (136% increase from spring 2017) Prothonotary Warbler 13 (9) (no change from spring 2017) Tennessee Warbler 270 (197) (25% increase from spring 2017) Orange-crowned Warbler 39 (13) (62% increase from spring 2017) Nashville Warbler 154 (69) (75% increase from spring 2017) Connecticut Warbler 3 (2) (57% decrease from spring 2017) Mourning Warbler 10 (8) (54% decrease from spring 2017) Common Yellowthroat 218 (28% increase from spring 2017) American Redstart 262 (25% increase from spring 2017) Cape May Warbler 1 (5) (67% decrease from spring 2017) Cerulean Warbler 3 (1) (0 were seen spring 2017) Northern Parula 26 (10) (100% increase from spring 2017) Magnolia Warbler 50 (35) (32% decrease from spring 2017) Bay-breasted Warbler 6 (5) (20% increase from spring 2017) Blackburnian Warbler 26 (18) (73% increase from spring 2017) Yellow Warbler 442 (51% increase from spring 2017) Chestnut-sided Warbler 50 (25) (67% increase from spring 2017) Blackpoll Warbler 84 (47) (140% increase from spring 2017) Palm Warbler 331 (77) (95% increase from spring 2017) Pine Warbler 4 (2) (100% increase from spring 2017) Yellow-rumped Warbler 1274 (524) (8% decrease from spring 2017) Black-throated Green Warbler 12 (12) (9% increase from spring 2017) Canada Warbler 10 (11) (37% decrease from spring 2017) Wilson's Warbler 46 (31) (18% increase from spring 2017) Warbler totals by location Rapids Lake MVNWR 2244 of 27 species Carver Park 1217 of 26 species Minnesota Landscape Arboretum 193 of 17 species Chevalle neighborhood wetlands 34 of 3 species Northern Chaska city trail 7 of 1 species Other species cumulative counts through the end of May Olive-sided Flycatcher 4 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 3 Alder Flycatcher 7 Willow Flycatcher 25 Least Flycatcher 153 Blue-headed Vireo 30 Philadelphia Vireo 2 Winter Wren 16 Golden-crowned Kinglet 117 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 188 Veery 9 Gray-cheeked Thrush 10 Swainson's Thrush 81 Hermit Thrush 32 Wood Thrush 9 White-crowned Sparrow 7 Harris's Sparrow 1 Lincoln's Sparrow 53 John Cyrus ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
