After two exceptional years for migrant numbers during the month of May in Carver County, I was due for more modest results this year. Spring 2020 was more of a reversion to the mean. The March thaw began at a reasonable time this year in early March, so waterfowl and other early arrivals returned as expected. Bird numbers throughout March weren't anything to write home about. In April bird numbers were not outstanding, but I do think numbers then were the most numerous compared to normal of any month this spring. At the end of April and the very beginning of May, the weather did cooperate to usher in a surge of migrants. After that, the weather was about the worst possible for the arrival of significant numbers of migrants for the first 1/3 of May. The cool weather combined with too much storminess well to our south held migrants in place, so many were very slow to arrive. When they finally began to move into the area in higher numbers by mid-May, the weather did not cooperate to hold the birds in the area for long. There was also still too much storminess to our south that kept migration sputtering. Many more birds likely overflew the local area as well compared to the past two years.
If this were part of a long-term trend, my warbler totals this year would be concerning. If this is a one-off and since I have had less impressive springs in the past, then this year was slightly disappointing and better luck next year. Including all warbler species my total this spring is down 54.5% compared to last year. Excluding counts of the common Yellow, Redstart, and Yellowthroat, the total is down 48.9% compared to last year. Keep in mind that last year's totals were about as high as I expect to see here with 9 days with 20 or more warbler species. It wouldn't surprise me if I never see a spring like that again. Most of the warbler species that had a lower percent decrease this spring are species that typically arrive to the area slightly earlier than the others. The most unusual species for me this spring all occurred relatively early for the species. On April 30 an Eastern Whip-poor-will was at Rapids Lake, and on May 1 a White-eyed Vireo and Hooded Warbler were at Carver Park Reserve. Beyond that numbers of flycatcher, vireo, and thrush generally ranged from poor to mediocre. A lot of that is because many were quite late in arriving. While numbers of migrant Fox and White-throated Sparrow were relatively normal, the numbers of migrant Lincoln's, White-crowned, and Harris's Sparrow were terrible. I believe this is the first spring in over 15 years that I did not see a Harris's Sparrow. Warbler species seen each day followed by cumulative migrant warbler counts with the 2008-2019 average spring count in parenthesis(excluding Yellow, Yellowthroat, and Redstart) and a comparison to spring 2019 totals following that. Before April 20- 1 April 25- 4 April 26- 3 April 27- 6 April 30- 8 May 1- 8 May 2- 10 May 3- 10 May 8- 7 May 9- 10 May 10- 10 May 11- 7 May 12- 12 May 14- 19 May 15- 15 May 16- 23 May 17- 17 May 20- 11 May 23- 22 May 24- 19 May 28- 6 Ovenbird 34 (37) (46.9% decrease from spring 2019) Northern Waterthrush 52 (37) (11.9% decrease from spring 2019) Golden-winged Warbler 21 (15) (48.9% decrease from spring 2019) Blue-winged Warbler 46 (56) (44.6% decrease from spring 2019) Black-and-white Warbler 58 (46) (19.4% decrease from spring 2019) Prothonotary Warbler 8 (9) (60% increase from spring 2019) Tennessee Warbler 89 (211) (70.1% decrease from spring 2019) Orange-crowned Warbler 28 (18) (33.3% decrease from spring 2019) Nashville Warbler 116 (82) (20.5% decrease from spring 2019) Connecticut Warbler 0 (3) (personal high spring total of 14 in spring 2019) Mourning Warbler 6 (11) (86.7% decrease from spring 2019) Common Yellowthroat 142 (57.2% decrease from spring 2019) American Redstart 147 (73.6% decrease from spring 2019) Cape May Warbler 4 (5) (50% decrease from spring 2019) Cerulean Warbler 1 (1) (no change from spring 2019) Northern Parula 13 (12) (35% decrease from spring 2019) Magnolia Warbler 21 (45) (85% decrease from spring 2019) Bay-breasted Warbler 4 (6) (76.5% decrease from spring 2019) Blackburnian Warbler 19 (24) (75% decrease from spring 2019) Yellow Warbler 220 (59.1% decrease from spring 2019) Chestnut-sided Warbler 23 (35) (81.5% decrease from spring 2019) Blackpoll Warbler 14 (53) (82.5% decrease from spring 2019) Palm Warbler 125 (112) (48.66% decrease from spring 2019) Pine Warbler 2 (2) (75% decrease from spring 2019) Yellow-rumped Warbler 575 (609) (28.5% decrease from spring 2019) Black-throated Green Warbler 9 (13) (71.9% decrease from spring 2019) Canada Warbler 10 (14) (79.6% decrease from spring 2019) Wilson's Warbler 21 (36) (72% decrease from spring 2019) Hooded Warbler 1 Warbler totals by location Rapids Lake MVNWR 862 of 26 species Carver Park(west of cty. rd. 11 only) 947 of 25 species Other species cumulative counts Olive-sided Flycatcher 1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 7 Alder Flycatcher 3 Willow Flycatcher 5 Least Flycatcher 54 Blue-headed Vireo 34 Philadelphia Vireo 3 Winter Wren 9 Golden-crowned Kinglet 128 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 246 Veery 13 Gray-cheeked Thrush 7 Swainson's Thrush 13 Hermit Thrush 32 Wood Thrush 5 Fox Sparrow 88 White-throated Sparrow 272 White-crowned Sparrow 3 Lincoln's Sparrow 12 2020 spring arrival dates March 1- Cackling Goose, Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Killdeer, Eastern Bluebird, Lapland Longspur March 7- Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Northern Pintail, Red-shouldered Hawk, Red-winged Blackbird March 8- American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, American Woodcock, Ring-billed Gull, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Belted Kingfisher, Eastern Meadowlark, Rusty Blackbird March 14- Sandhill Crane, Northern Harrier, Cooper's Hawk March 15- Tundra Swan, Lesser Scaup, Herring Gull, Common Grackle March 17- Merlin, Western Meadowlark March 19- Canvasback March 21- Greater White-fronted Goose, Bufflehead, Great Blue Heron March 22- Redhead March 26- Song Sparrow March 28- Turkey Vulture, Double-crested Cormorant April 4- Common Loon, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Winter Wren, Hermit Thrush, Fox Sparrow, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Brewer's Blackbird April 5- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Eastern Phoebe, Field Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow April 11- Blue-winged Teal, Sora, Great Egret, Osprey, Tree Swallow, Chipping Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Warbler April 15- Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe April 18- Purple Martin, Barn Swallow April 19- American White Pelican April 25- Virginia Rail, Bonaparte's Gull, White-throated Sparrow, Henslow's Sparrow, Black-and-white Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Palm Warbler April 26- Broad-winged Hawk, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, House Wren, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Savannah Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole April 27- Solitary Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Caspian Tern, Least Flycatcher, Blue-headed Vireo, Sedge Wren, Clay-colored Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Nashville Warbler, Pine Warbler April 30- Eastern Whip-poor-will, Lincoln's Sparrow, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Yellow Warbler May 1- American Coot, Wilson's Snipe, White-eyed Vireo, Grasshopper Sparrow, Tennessee Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Indigo Bunting May 2- Willet, Great Crested Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Bank Swallow, Northern Parula, Wilson's Warbler, Rose-breasted Grosbeak May 3- Cliff Swallow, Swainson's Thrush, American Redstart May 8- Chimney Swift, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Common Yellowthroat May 9- Marsh Wren, Prothonotary Warbler May 10- Bobolink, Black-throated Green Warbler May 11- Spotted Sandpiper, Green Heron May 12- Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Blackpoll Warbler May 14- Eastern Kingbird, Yellow-throated Vireo, Wood Thrush, Golden-winged Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler May 15- Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-eyed Vireo, Veery, White-crowned Sparrow, May 16- Common Nighthawk, Orchard Oriole, Cape May Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Canada Warbler, Scarlet Tanager May 17- Forster's Tern, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, Philadelphia Vireo May 20- Eastern Wood-Pewee May 23- Olive-sided Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, Cerulean Warbler May 24- American Bittern, Lark Sparrow May 28- Red-headed Woodpecker 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 During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
