April 1 seems to have its own joke today with near 80 degrees. Lets' hope
for plants and birds alike next week isn't in the 20s. As expected a good
movement began today with those short-distance migrants from the southern
U.S.. The Lake Erie Marsh Region saw a major movement over night.  Fox
Sparrows, Golden-crowned Kinglets, flickers, Brown Creepers, Eastern Phoebe,
and Slate-colored Juncos all were up in numbers this morning. One bush at
the Navarre banding station held 8 Fox Sparrows plus a towhee. 5 phoebes
could be seen in one group of 3 trees. The kinglets are mostly males so this
is just the beginning. Expect males of most all species to move 1 to 2 weeks
ahead of the females as they need to get north and set up territory before
the real business at hand gets going. Expect many of the birds that came in
last night to leave tonight but there should be many more arriving as this
front continues for the next couple of days. Large numbers of Lesser Scaup,
Redhead, and a few Common Mergansers are rafting off shore along Magee and
Ottawa. Raptors should be good numbers if they are low enough to see. Strong
thermals could make them make you forget about "warbler neck" as they rise
to the limits of sight. Check farm fields to the south of the marsh reserves
for Bonaparte's Gulls. This weekend should be a good time to get out and
enjoy a hint of spring and our first migrant songbirds.





Mark Shieldcastle
Research Director

Black Swamp Bird Observatory

13551 W SR 2

Oak Harbor, Ohio 43449

419-898-4070



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