Re: [cayugabirds-l] [nfc-l] Thursday: Night Flight in Northeast

[Jim Tate]

I have been trying to correlate flights as reported by NFC observations, and 
radar with our experience picking up window strikes in DC.  Last night's 
reported flight in the northeast resulted in only a couple of warblers this 
morning.  I wonder if any other Lights Out groups are getting different 
results?  We should be able to declare emergency nights when we expect big 
flights- if only we can correlate.  -TATE

Sent from my iPad

> On Sep 19, 2014, at 2:13 PM, "Geoff Malosh"  wrote:
> 
> I can attest to the enormous flight in southwestern Pennsylvania this 
> morning. Still analyzing recordings but as a preview I am up to just shy of 
> 900 Swainson’s Thrush calls in the last 30 minutes before civil twilight, 
> along with 51 Gray-cheeked, 15 Wood Thrush, and <10 Rose-breasted Grosbeak 
> and Scarlet Tanager. Warblers calls in total are at about 90. Still analyzing 
> with a long way to go, which will greatly up the totals of Swainson’s and 
> Gray-cheeked judging by what I heard in real time. Later in the morning I had 
> 15 sp. of warbler at a local migration hotspot.
>  
> Last night was one of the most impressive flights I’ve heard here in suburban 
> and often noise-infested Pittsburgh.
>  
> Geoff Malosh
>  
> Geoff Malosh | Editor, Pennsylvania Birds
> 450 Amherst Avenue | Moon Township, PA 15108-2654 | 412.735.3128 
> pomar...@earthlink.net | http://home.earthlink.net/~pomarine/index.html
> ===
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>  
>  
>  
> From: bounce-117989080-58130...@list.cornell.edu 
> [mailto:bounce-117989080-58130...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Rudolph 
> Keller
> Sent: Friday, September 19, 2014 3:33 PM
> To: Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes; Andrew Albright; CAYUGABIRDS-L; NFC-L
> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] [nfc-l] Thursday: Night Flight in Northeast
>  
> Apparently there was a very large flight involving thousands of mostly thrush 
> calls over western PA last night and around dawn. I think it was much lighter 
> over eastern PA, as seems often to be the case. At Hawk Mt. in SE PA, a NE 
> wind of 5-8 mph was enough to rustle leaves and mask calls (only 20 or so 
> heard around 6 am), but I rarely hear many calls on windy nights even if 
> there are no trees to rustle. The calm night of 9/17 was much better at Hawk 
> Mt., with over 500 calls in 20 minutes starting at 6 am, most Swainson's & 
> Wood Thrushes (also lots of Wood Thrushes calling in the woods after 
> daylight), with 13 Gray-cheek calls thrown in. I also rarely hear warblers in 
> the dawn descent period, even when I find good numbers of them in the area 
> after daylight.
> Rudy Keller
> - Original Message -
> From: Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes
> To: Andrew Albright ; CAYUGABIRDS-L ; NFC-L
> Sent: Friday, September 19, 2014 11:12 AM
> Subject: Re: [cayugabirds-l] [nfc-l] Thursday: Night Flight in Northeast
>  
> Andrew, et. al.,
>  
> I haven’t gone through all of my recording data from last night, but I have 
> certainly observed what you are mentioning: significant thrush vocalizations 
> in the minutes immediately leading up to the start of civil twilight. Often, 
> after midnight, there are very few warbler calls and equally few during the 
> thrush descent. Herons and bitterns seem to be vocal in the first three or 
> four hours of the night, and then wane after that. I’m not sure what the 
> cause or purpose is for this decrease in vocal activity in warblers after 
> midnight.
>  
> Last night, there were hundreds of Swainson’s Thrushes and Rose-breasted 
> Grosbeaks calling, tens of Gray-cheeked Thrushes with a single potential 
> Bicknell’s Thrush candidate, a good handful of Wood Thrushes and Veeries in 
> the mix. No Hermit Thrushes. A couple of Scarlet Tanager candidates. At least 
> one American Bittern, two probable Least Bitterns (I’d like to discuss this 
> later on NFC-L) and several Green Herons. Two American Woodcocks flew by 
> shortly after the start of civil twilight, one stopping the wing twittering 
> long enough to utter some very soft and gentle buzzy squeaks that I’ve never 
> heard before, then continuing with the wing twittering.
>  
> Also heard overnight were Ovenbirds, Black-throated Blue Warbler, 
> Chestnut-sided Warblers, Savannah Sparrows, and many many unidentified 
> interesting calls requiring much time I don’t have right now to compare and 
> evaluate. Great Horned Owl and a local rooster were calling early this 
> morning. A couple nights ago, I saw one of our Flying Squirrels feeding on 
> the squirrel seed cakes out front, after returning home late from work.
>  
> Last night was one of the more notable nights this migration season.
>  
> Good night listening and birding!
>  
> Sincerely,
> Chris T-H

RE: [nfc-l] [nysbirds-l] Fwd: Minimal Migration or Population Decline?

[Jim Tate]

I have yet to see a single Chimney Swift in DC or nearby Montgomery County, MD this year.  Perhaps Montgomery Bird Club has data on this issue     -TATEJames Tate, Jr., Ph.D.2031 Huidekoper Pl NWWashington, DC 20007T 202-841-2056j...@tate-tate.us Research Associate Smithsonian Institution Migratory Bird Center Senior Fellow and Director Ecological Economics and Ethics ProgramPotomac Institute for Policy Studies  LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The information transmitted herein is intended solely for the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of or taking action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you have received this email in error please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer.    Original Message  Subject: Re:[nfc-l] [nysbirds-l] Fwd: Minimal Migration or Population Decline? From: "Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes"  Date: Mon, June 17, 2013 11:16 am To: "Joan E. Collins"  Cc: NYSBIRDS-L , NFC-L , "Sean O'Brien"   Thank you, Joan, for this anecdotal evidence. Since it has been a couple of weeks now, I'm curious to know if anyone has noted an improvement in their local area birding spots, or if it has been more of the same. For me, I've noted a serious lack of typical neighborhood birds that used to be a regular part of the acoustic atmosphere: Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole and Red-eyed Vireo, just to name a few. I've also noticed a lack of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this year – usually, they are zipping around and chittering in the neighborhood. Not so this year, yet anyway. If this is region-wide, I'd think it critically important to collect as much data as possible to help monitor or track this seeming dearth of activity. I expect this fall migration to be fairly telling, if there was a pop-ulation-wide impact of some kind.   Sincerely, Chris T-H  On Jun 4, 2013, at 4:11 PM, Joan E. Collins wrote:  Thank you for this interesting post Chris.  This has been a dominate topic of discussion among many birders in the Adirondacks.  Sean O’Brien and I have been talking every few days wondering what has happened to many neotropical migrants this year.  I mentioned the low numbers of Blackpoll Warblers and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers on Whiteface Mountain in my earlier post today, but numbers of most neotropical migrants appear way down.  Sean keeps remarking that there is no dawn chorus this year.  Even my non-birder husband has been noting the lack of birds this spring.  Normally, you can’t sleep past 4:30 a.m. in our house at this time of year because of the remarkable dawn sounds outside our bedroom window, but it feels more like late summer every morning with the lack of songs.  I was aware of the weather-related fallout on the Gulf Coast of Texas in April, and I had to wonder, with so many birds too exhausted to be afraid of humans, how many may have perished unseen over the Gulf?     Migration seemed highly unusual this year.  Normally, species like Blue-headed Vireo would suddenly fill the forests overnight.  This year, I found ONE, and then a week went by and I found a second one, then several days went by and they began to arrive in a trickle.  Species were, for the most part, late arriving and they trickled in.  We have been waiting for the forests to fill, but it hasn’t happened and it is now June 4th.  In a section of Massawepie Mire that is normally filled with breeding Canada Warblers, we heard one on Saturday.  It is definitely worrisome.     As you mentioned, BBS surveys may help document the apparent population declines.  Thanks again for your thoughts about possible reasons for such worrisome declines.  I too, would be interested to hear the thoughts of other birders on this topic.     Joan Collins  Long Lake, NY      From: bounce-98052797-13418...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-98052797-13418...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2013 12:18 PM To: NYSBIRDS-L Subject: [nysbirds-l] Fwd: Minimal Migration or Population Decline?    Good afternoon!    This morning, I sent the following email to NFC-L, the Night Flight Call eList, and thought some on NYSbirds-L might find this of interest or have some input.    Sincerely,Chris T-H    Begin forwarded message:Date: June 4, 2013 9:46:52 AM EDTTo: NFC-L Subject: Minimal Migration or Population Decline?    Good morning,    I am curious to know if recording stations in the Northeast have experienced, numerically – with respect to quantity of night flight calls, a reduced number of migrants this spring as compared to past years. My perception is that there was a noticeable 

RE: [nfc-l] Night Migrating Raptors

[Jim Tate]

Chris- Thank you for your neat observations, and the pictures.  I want to share a similar observation with you.When leading a birding trip to Yucatan for Audubon in late February 1976 I encountered apparently migrant Swallow-tailed Kites coming off the Gulf at Rio Lagartos.  We were walking east along the beach at what is now the Ria Lagartos Natural Area.  Just at dawn we saw one, then two, then one kite flying SSW from the open water toward land.  We recorded the observations in our field notes, but have no pictures.This observation would seem consistent with your observations at sea.  If they had left the Cuban shore (nearest land?), they would have started about 100 miles away.  If we used an average speed of 15mph  (sheer guess), that would be a 7 hour flight.  This speculation is just a BOTE guess that even starting at nightfall they could have been flying all night.  If they started further away, or traveled more slowly, even starting during daylight would have put them at the coast of Yucatan at daylight.         -TATEJames Tate, Jr., Ph.D. | Research Associate |Smithsonian Institution Migratory Bird Center | National Zoological Park |T 202-841-2056 | Email j...@tate-tate.usJames Tate, Jr. | Senior Fellow and Director |Ecological Economics and Ethics Program |Potomac Institute for Policy Studies |Ballston Metro Center Office Tower | 901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22203Washington, DC 20007T 202-841-2056| Email: jt...@potomacinstitute.orgJames Tate, Jr. | Second Vice PresidentEastern Bird Banding Association.Email: j...@tate-tate.us


 Original Message 
Subject: Re: [nfc-l] Night Migrating Raptors
From: Kenneth Victor Rosenberg 
Date: Thu, March 01, 2012 9:08 pm
To: "Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes" 
Cc: NFC-L 

 Chris, this is very cool! I'm sure there is a publishable note there. Ken Rosenberg Conservation Science Program Cornell Lab of Ornithology 607-254-2412 607-342-4594 (cell) k...@cornell.eduOn Mar 1, 2012, at 4:01 PM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes wrote:Below is a link of a few pictures I managed to capture of a couple of the individuals. Unfortunately, due to our operations, I was not able to take time for extensive documentation. It was a very neat spectacle to have witnessed. Some details are at right of the album at the link, below.   https://picasaweb.google.com/112522159565855378380/NightMigratingRaptors   Sincerely, Chris T-H Currently at sea in the Gulf of Mexico, aboard the M/V Emily Bordelon.   On Mar 1, 2012, at 4:41 AM, Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes wrote:  Although these birds weren’t making vocalizations, but it has been really cool to witness.     I’m on the M/V Emily Bordelon about 150 miles WNW of Tampa, FL, working on recovering oceanographic research instruments. We’re conducting 24-hour operations with deck lights blazing. from approximately 07:10 to 07:25 GMT (02:10 to 02:25 AM EST) the deck crew and I observed at least three simultaneous SWALLOW-TAILED KITES, 1 Laughing Gull, and a single OSPREY approach the vessel during an extended full-stop drifts. This was at about N28 26.491 by W85 27.459. I managed to get some half-decent photos of the Kites as they drifted over the vessel.     At another point, from approximately 08:40 to 09:20 GMT (02:40 to 03:20 AM EST) we were visited by at least two more night migrating SWALLOW-TAILED KITES. I did not obtain photos of those birds. This was at about N28 17.256 by W85 32.837.     I imagine there are several birds in migration across the Eastern Gulf of Mexico at this point and we should expect to have more observations at the next couple of nighttime stations.     Good birding!     Sincerely, Chris T-H     --  Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes  TARU Product Line Manager and Field Applications Engineer  Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology  159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850  W: 607-254-2418   M: 607-351-5740   F: 607-254-1132  http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp        -- NFC-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! ----  Christopher T. Tessaglia-Hymes  TARU Product Line Manager and Field Applications Engineer  Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology  159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850  W: 607-254-2418   M: 607-351-5740   F: 607-254-1132  http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp-- NFC-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! -- -- NFC-L List Info: Welcome and Basics Rules and Information Subscribe, Configuration and Leave Archives: The Mail Archive Surfbirds BirdingOnThe.Net Please submit your observations to eBird! --   


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[nfc-l] 9/11/11 and twin spotlights

[Jim Tate]

The constant rain of the last week has let up and it appears birds are moving again.  Does anyone know if they are planning twin spotlights tonight at the site of the twin towers?  I would not care to see a repeat of last fall's confusion.    -TATEJames Tate, Jr., Ph.D. | Research Associate |Smithsonian Institution Migratory Bird Center | National Zoological Park |T 202-841-2056 | Email j...@tate-tate.usJames Tate, Jr. | Senior Fellow and Director |Ecological Economics and Ethics Program |Potomac Institute for Policy Studies |Ballston Metro Center Office Tower | 901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22203Washington, DC 20007T 202-841-2056| Email: jt...@potomacinstitute.org
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