Chuck, The wind map is very helpful in interpreting the results. The winds (hence the migrants) were shunted east (New Orleans to FL Panhandle by the frontal passage leaving the western Gulf high and dry. jca John C. Arvin Research Associate Gulf Coast Bird Observatory 103 West Hwy 332 Lake Jackson, TX 77566 jarvin@xxxxxxxx www.gcbo.org Austin, Texas ---------------------------------------- From: "Chuck Sexton" <gcwarbler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2014 7:24 AM To: "TexBirds TexBirds Posting" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [texbirds] Coastal Bend - No migration inland Tues-Wed. 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 //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission from the List Owner Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission from the List Owner