For those birders who aren't en route to look at the Garganey:

As predicted earlier, today (Sunday May 1) is producing a good arrival of birds at the migrant traps on the Lake Erie shoreline in n.w. Ohio. Mark Shieldcastle sent a brief text to say that the second pulse of the first wave had arrived at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory's main research site, on the Navarre unit of Ottawa NWR, just east of Magee Marsh. An early report from the Magee boardwalk indicates that good numbers of birds are there -- mostly the typical early migrants like Yellow-rumped and Palm warblers, but with a good mix of other species.

Weather forecast shows a strong chance of off-and-on showers today, so the birds should be foraging low, at least part of the time.

Friday night on this listserve I wrote: "Short prediction: Saturday will provide very pleasant birding, a wonderful chance to get outside and enjoy the spring. Sunday will be messy weather, but with a lot of birds to look at for those who are willing to risk a little rain." Our forecasts for the migration aren't always accurate, just as forecasts for the weather (which has a huge impact on migration!) aren't always accurate, so it's gratifying when things do work out as predicted.

As a reminder, at this time of year we're posting frequent updates and predictions on the migration at http://cranecreekbirding.blogspot.com/
and we have maps, directions, and other northwest Ohio birding information online at http://www.bsbo.org/Birding/
See you out there --

Kenn Kaufman
Editor, Kaufman Field Guides series
http://www.kaufmanfieldguides.com/
Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KaufmanFieldGuides
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/KaufmanGuides



______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]