Birders who came to the area of Magee Marsh, n.w. Ohio, over the
IMBD/Mothers' Day weekend found a good diversity of migrants but not huge
numbers.  Here's a brief update on the overall status of the migration here.

As of today (Tuesday May 13) the main part of the second migration wave has
not arrived here. Most of the migrant species are present, at least in small
numbers, but we haven't yet seen the big influx of Magnolia, Chestnut-sided,
Bay-breasted, and other warblers that would characterize the mid-May wave.
This field impression is borne out by results from the Black Swamp Bird
Observatory's banding operation.  This year, the first part of the migration
has been unusually protracted, so that early-season migrants like
Yellow-rumped Warblers and White-throated Sparrows are still around in
unusual numbers. Meanwhile, the mid-May explosion of Magnolia Warblers and
their ilk has not yet begun, flycatchers and cuckoos are still scarce, and
the invasion of Red-eyed Vireos has hardly started.  (Yes, there are a few
around, but not thousands yet.)

This means that a LOT of migrants are still to the south of us.  We haven't
"missed" the big migration, it just isn't here yet.  The winds have been
mostly out of the north for the last several days, and will continue to be
northerly part of this week, but right now (Tuesday May 13) they've shifted
to the southeast.  They're supposed to continue southerly through tonight
and most of Wednesday.  I expect a moderate fallout of migrants at Magee and
other lakeshore migrant traps on Wednesday morning, May 14 (it's also
supposed to rain, but often the best migration days are rainy here). Then
the winds are supposed to swing around to the northwest again by Wednesday
night and stay northerly through Thursday. Right now the predictions show
the winds going to southwest by Friday morning and staying that way for a
while, and on that basis, I think there should be a major arrival of
migrants next weekend, May 17th and 18th. This should mean the biggest
diversity of the season for the area, with best mix of warblers, a good
arrival of vireos and flycatchers, and generally exciting birding.

There are no guarantees, because the weather forecasts in this area change
as often as the weather does!  But right now it looks like Wednesday May
14th could be fair to good for migrants, and Saturday May 17th could be good
to excellent.  For those who happen to be in the area on Saturday, there
will be a free bird-banding demonstration from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the
Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) nature center, located just north of
Route 2 at the entrance to Magee Marsh.

Just as a reminder, BSBO is posting regular updates and predictions about
the migration on their birding pages, available through
http://www.bsbobird.org/birding/     These pages also have directions and
maps for many of the local hotspots, information on local lodging and
restaurants, a downloadable bird checklist, and other resources.  The main
BSBO pages, just a click away from the birding pages, also have updates from
the banding station, a bander's blog, and lots of other information.  As
Ohio's only bird observatory, BSBO is focused on research, education, and
conservation, but it also has a lot to offer to birders who just want to
have a good time in the field.

Kenn Kaufman
Rocky Ridge, Ohio

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