Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Warbler Records & Six Spring Warbler Hotspots

Among the diversity of warblers that birders are excited to see are an American Redstart (above), a Bay-breasted Warbler (below), and a Magnolia Warbler (photos by Paul Konrad).

Recent reports have birders excited about the first mixed-species migrations of warblers and other neotropical migrants into Florida and Texas. At Fort Desoto in St. Petersburg, Florida, an exciting warbler list from last week included a beautiful male Chestnut-sided Warbler as a standout, plus Hooded, Prothonotary, Worm-eating, Prairie, Tennessee, Blackpoll, Yellow, Black-and-White Warblers, and American Redstarts; along with outstanding migrant neotropical songbirds such as Scarlet and Summer Tanagers, Baltimore and Orchard Orioles, Blue and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Indigo Buntings, and a Dickcissel – Wow!

So how do you beat that impressive outing at a warbler hotspot?

Well, let’s check with Ian Davies, who described the biggest warbler day ever recorded last year: “Today was the greatest birding day of my life,” Davies wrote in his eBird checklist. “For nine hours we counted a never-ending flight of warblers, at times covering the entire visible sky from horizon to horizon. The volume of flight calls was so vast that it often faded into a constant background buzz.” The total estimate: 721,620 warblers, plus a diversity of more neotropical migrants.

Where was this? Tadoussac Bird Observatory in coastal Quebec 11 months ago. Davies and friends estimated 144,000 Bay-breasted Warblers, 108,200 Cape May Warblers, 108,200 Mag­nolia Warblers, 72,200 Tennessee Warblers, 72,200 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 14,400 Canada Warblers, and 50,500 American Redstarts. In all, Davies (an eBird project coordinator at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology who went birding to Tadoussac on a vacation day) and his five buddies recorded a full half-million more warblers than any other eBird checklist in history.

It wasn’t just a lucky break. Davies and company had done their homework, so they knew where to go and when to be there. Some places, like Tadoussac, are geographically located in places that concentrate migrating birds, and attract birders as a result.

Six Warbler Hotspots

The Cornell Lab’s Living Bird online publication provides their take on the six warbler hotspots located around the United States:

Magee Marsh, Ohio

Magee Marsh Wildlife Area on Lake Erie recently claimed the mantle of “Warbler Capital of North America,” There, warblers migrating from converging flyways congregate by the thousands to refuel before crossing the Great Lakes. About 40 species of warblers have been reported at Magee Marsh, which features a mile-long boardwalk through the heart of prime stopover habitat – scrubby wetlands with a variety of trees and shrubs that ensures that birders get a close look at the birds. The migration spectacle spawned a week-long birding festival in May, “The Biggest Week in American Birding” Festival (see information below).

Sabine Woods, Texas

The Texas Coast offers the first rest stop for millions of birds migrating across the Gulf of Mexico during early spring. When birds encounter rainstorms or strong headwinds, they descend on the first vegetation in massive numbers – a legendary fallout. Sabine Woods, located in southeast Texas is always a good spring birding site, but when conditions are right for a fallout, there could be thousands of birds in this Texas Ornithological Society sanctuary. Flocks of more than 100 Prothonotary, Hooded, Bay-breasted, and Tennessee Warblers have been recorded by lucky birders. While you are in the area, be sure to stop by High Island, another nearby favorite spring warbler hotspot down the Texas Gulf Coast.

Butterbredt Spring, California

An oasis of green on the western edge of the Mojave Desert, Butterbredt Spring has attracted about 30 species of warblers during May, with some notable high counts of 2,500 Wilson’s Warblers and 400 Townsend’s Warblers, plus Hermit Warblers, Black-throated Gray Warblers and other western species during exciting May days. The spring nourishes a few acres of lush cottonwoods and willows with a cattail marsh amid a desert landscape dominated by rocky hills and sparse shrubs, so migrating songbirds are easily lured to this remote stopover site.

Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia

The highest point in metro Atlanta, this southern Appalachian foothill offers plenty of green space that acts as a beacon for migratory birds, attracting more than 30 warbler species during the peak of spring migration. According to local birders, it’s possible to see 20 species of warblers on a good hike through this beautiful forested mount.

Chico Basin Ranch, Colorado

Located along the eastern Rocky Mountain front, surrounded by prairie this ranch is an oasis of water and trees, with springs and lakes bordered by cottonwoods that serve as a stopover site for migrating birds during late April and early May. As many as 36 species of warblers can be found during the season, including Blackpoll, Wilson’s, Yellow, and even Virginia’s Warblers. And keep in mind that more than 330 species of birds have been observed on this working cattle ranch.

Mount Auburn, Massachusetts

Outside the city of Boston, Mount Auburn offers an island of green amid the urban spread that attracts a variety of classic Eastern warblers during mid-May, including Black-throated Blue Warblers, Northern Parulas, Black-and-Whites, Magnolias, Black-throated Green Warblers, and American Redstarts – plus many more among the mixed-species flocks of migrating songbirds.

To the Big Six Warbler Hotspots highlighted in the Living Bird article, we would certainly add a couple standout Canadian warbler migration hotspots: Point Pelee, Ontario and, of course, Todoussace, Quebec.

Warbler Festivals

You may also be interested in a few of the exciting warbler birding festivals taking place during May, including:

The Biggest Week in American Birding Festival at Black Swamp Bird Observatory and associated wildlife areas, May 3 to 12 (http://www.biggestweekinamericanbirding.com/);

The Beaver Island Birding Festival – Warblers on the Waters, at Beaver Island, Michigan, May 24 to 26 (http://www.beaverislandbirdingtrail.org/warblers.html);

The Cape May Spring Birding Festival in and around Cape May, New Jersey, May 16 to 19 (https://njaudubon.org/nja-events/cape-may-spring-festival/); and

The Cerulean Warbler Weekend at Barry County, Michigan, May 31 to June 2.

To see Ian Davies’ original eBird report, which is a fun visit, you can refer to https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46116491?__hstc=75100365.568eed8eeaa10bb7b5b54a31fa5a2adf.1548620636650.1555133276700.1555720281300.57&__hssc=75100365.1.1555720281300&__hsfp=2804695506

To refer to the Cornell Lab’s Living Bird online publication referenced for this article, see https://www.allaboutbirds.org/6-warbler-hotspots-to-try-out-this-spring-plus-how-to-find-your-own/

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