After five straight days of stubborn north winds, May finally flipped the switch.
Two days of counting and we’re already sitting on 100 species, with yesterday alone hitting the century mark and pushing over 5,600 individuals for the day. That is about as clean of a “migration is on” signal as you’re going to get.
Sunday was a chilly start, but finally warmed later in the day with a shift of south winds. This only gave us a preview, 70 species and just over 2,300 birds, highlighted by strong American Pipit movement and a steady push of the first Baltimore Orioles and the always fun to watch start of the season’s goldfinch flight. Then Monday turned the volume up. Big mixed flights, big diversity, and clicker burning intensity!
A few early May ornithology themes we see each year are already taking shape:
- Goldfinches are moving in force. Large flocks are flying past the tower, often close. Most go east to west.
- Orioles and buntings are riding these south winds hard, with Baltimore Orioles especially showing up in big pulses. Indigos should show up more this week. They’re a classic 1-2 birds here and there, but adds up to 50-100 by the end of the day.
- Pipits still hanging on, which is classic for this window when winter holdovers overlap with fresh arrivals. May crossbills aren’t unheard of either.
- Blue Jays… oddly quiet. Even with good conditions, they have not ramped up yet, much like their Toronto cousins this season.
That mix tells you exactly where we are in the season, right on the front edge of peak passerine movement. With less than 10 days before the start of the Indiana Dunes Birding Festival it’ll be interesting to see the weather systems that pulse through between then and now. The neotropical waves are just starting in the dunes!
Follow along with the May eBird Trip Report here.
Tags: longshore flight survey
