[texbirds] Coastal Bend - No migration inland Tues-Wed.
- From: Chuck Sexton <gcwarbler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: TexBirds TexBirds Posting <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 1 May 2014 07:24:23 -0500
TexBirders,
Location, location, location. Tuesday and Wednesday were something of an
experiment for me, with predictable results. I was trying to pad some county
lists in the inland areas just off the Coastal Bend: DeWitt, Goliad, and
Victoria counties. I sampled lots of habitats and birded intensely for the two
days, April 29-30.
Outcome: Passerine migration was almost non-existent in vast areas of riparian
bottomlands, parklands, upland woodlands, lake shores, etc. For example, over
the two days, I had one Empidonax flycatcher, one wood-pewee, eight warbler
individuals of six species (incl. 2 Northern Parulas on territory), one
gnatcatcher, and one oriole; no catbirds, no migrant tanagers. You might
compare my results, for example, with Peter Barnes post for the Corpus/Port
Aransas area on Wednesday the 30th.
My dawn to dusk effort each day netted 70 spp in DeWitt Co. (9 hrs of birding),
81 spp in Goliad Co. (10 hrs), and 61 spp in Victoria Co. (7-1/2 hrs). These
are not what one expects in late April in Texas. There was a sprinkling of
migrant shorebirds around the edge of (receding) Coleto Creek Reservoir and a
few other small ponds, but much of DeWitt and Goliad counties lacks any surface
water.
I interpret my results as follows: The very gusty winds (from west, then
north, then east) from dry frontal passages had moved off the coast I believe
by Monday. There was little if any *onshore* rainfall with these fronts but
there was apparently some rain offshore of the Coastal Bend over the past 48
hours. Any/all northbound passerine migrants (circum- or trans-Gulf) would
have been facing stiff headwinds in the last leg of their journey into Texas.
I assume exhaustion was a major factor in confining their landings and/or
movements to the immediate coast.
Although it’s always fun to find 20+ species of warblers in a day on the
“coast”, I have to admit I am more intrigued (if not happy as a birder) with
comparing and contrasting the migration in nearby areas, based on weather
patterns, habitat conditions, etc.
For my next stunt, I hope to compare resident winter bird populations at Nome,
Alaska, and Tierra del Fuego in two sampling efforts exactly six months apart...
Chuck Sexton
Austin, TXEdit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at
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