Posted by Dan Arndt
On our outing last week, I mentioned an idea to Bob Lefebvre about setting up a post showing our readers where some of our summer migrants are right now, and maybe keeping it updated on a weekly basis. Easy enough to do using eBird, but in doing a quick Google search, I found out that Greg Miller (yes, that Greg Miller,) had already done a similar post, which I’ll link to below.
I do plan on setting up a resource page right here on Birds Calgary, tailored to our own favourite locals, but for now, here’s Greg’s great summary this topic.
Where are the Eastern Wood Warblers Now? – 2014
Just follow the link and click on any of the names of your favourite Wood Warbler species for an up to the minute update on their migration progress! As of this post, almost all of these species have landed in the southern United States, pushing northward on a daily basis. Many of them first arrive on the coast of Florida, Texas, and Louisiana before moving ever northward to their breeding grounds in the Boreal Forest of northern Canada, while others may breed further south in their preferred breeding habitats. The hardiest of them all, the Yellow-rumped Warblers, most of which over-winter in the continental United States, have pushed even further northward, into the interior of British Columbia, Washington state, and in the interior, as far north as northern Colorado and Utah.
Spring is on the way!
Does anybody know what happens to this year’s flocks of Crossbills and Grossbeaks? Last year we saw the first crossbills in Inglewood on January 1st and managed to see the crossbills and the grossbeaks regularly afterwards at Edworthy. This year they are nowhere to be seen, except Inglewood is closed. Anything idea?
This winter there have been very few of the winter finches (Red Crossbills, White-winged Crossbills, Pine Grosbeaks, Common and Hoary Redpolls) around Calgary. The spruce cone and deciduous tree seed and berry crops were excellent in the northern boreal forests, so there is plenty of food for these species in the northern parts of their ranges, and they didn’t move too far south. The cone crop here is poor, so even the erratic Pine Siskins have been scarce, and there have been far fewer Red-breasted Nuthatches overwintering here than usual. Next winter should be better, since cone crops tend to have good and bad production in alternate years.