The occluded front and an offshore low pressure system pulled away on Sunday, but low level clouds and developing fog with a light north to northwest wind precluded many migrants from arriving, or departing, the area overnight. The radar image confirmed this. In fact, what echoes were on the radar did not seem to be birds (moving too slow, to not moving at all, in very light winds and therefore more likely to have been something like dust and/or pollen).

Nevertheless, I actually had a few new arrivals this morning, and some decent activity here and there. First, I spent about 10 minutes on the back porch, listening and looking for birds passing overhead. Then, I made two laps around the edge of the recreation fields at Hedgehog Mountain Park. The next stop was Florida Lake Park. Then, I returned home, took a spin through the yard, and sat back on the porch to have a snack and sip some tea. By now, the fog had lifted, and clear blue skies were overhead, just in time for me to head up to the Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch. Since I expected a big flight Monday night into Tuesday, I did the same exact routine on Tuesday morning in order to compare the two days.

Here’s the comparison:
Monday, 5/5:
Back Porch:
1 flyover Yellow-rumped Warbler

The Hog:
~40 Yellow-rumped Warblers, mostly in one wave through the trees.
2 Chipping Sparrows
1 Hermit Thrush
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
1 White-throated Sparrow

Florida Lake Park:
1 male CAPE MAY WARBLER. First of spring, and rather early. A gorgeous bird foraging low (don’t see the back of Cape May’s very often!) at lake edge with Western Palm Warblers.
75+ Yellow-rumped Warblers
12 “Western” Palm Warblers
7 White-throated Sparrows
6 Blue Jays (one migrant flock)
2 Northern Rough-winged Swallows
2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
2 Black-and-white Warblers
2 Black-throated Green Warblers
2 Swamp Sparrows
1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 “Yellow” Palm Warbler
1 Savannah Sparrow
1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak, First of year.

Yard/Porch
4 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Common Loon
1 Blue-headed Vireo
1 Black-throated Green Warbler

Bradbury Mountain Hawkwatch, 9:00am to 1:15pm:
1 SANDHILL CRANE, high over summit, our 2nd of the year!
89 Double-crested Cormorants
24 Purple Finches
23 Tree Swallows
10 Barn Swallows
6 Yellow-rumped Warblers
6 Red-winged Blackbirds
4 Unidentified passerines.
3 Common Loons
3 Chimney Swifts (First of year for me).
3 Blue Jays
3 American Goldfinches
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
1 Black-and-white Warbler
1 Pine Warbler (6th warbler species of the day).

And, as for raptors, after a slow start, things really began to pick up after noon, with a Broad-winged Hawk at 12:37pm being our 3,000th raptor of the season! When I left at 1:15, we had tallied 65 Broad-wings, 12 Sharp-shinned Hawks, 9 Ospreys, 3 Merlins, and 1 American Kestrel, and by day’s end a very impressive 228 were tallied.

Overnight, clearing skies and calm winds allowed for a massive flight overnight. Oodles (the technical term) of birds were on the radar. Quite a few birds were departing, but even more were arriving.
Here’s the 10pm image:

1am:

4am:

And therefore, on Tuesday morning, 5/6 (in comparison to Monday’s routine), Jeannette and I recorded:
Back Porch:
4 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird, first of year, on our feeder.
1 Ruby-crowned Kinglet
1 Black-throated Green Warbler

Hedgehog Mountain Park (two laps around the edge of the rec. field):
19 Yellow-rumped Warblers
8 Chipping Sparrows
4 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
3 Blue-headed Vireos
3 Purple Finches
2 Black-throated Green Warblers
2 Black-and-white Warblers
1 Northern Parula, first of year.
1 “Western” Palm Warbler
1 Ovenbird, first of year.
1 White-throated Sparrow

Florida Lake Park:
50+ Yellow-rumped Warblers
8 “Yellow” Palm Warblers
2 Northern Rough-winged Swallows
2 Blue-headed Vireos
2 Black-and-white Warblers
2 “Western” Palm Warblers
2 Swamp Sparrows
2 Purple Finches
1 Chimney Swift
1 Northern Parula
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
1 Ovenbird
1 Northern Waterthrush, first of year
1 Savannah Sparrow
1 White-throated Sparrow

Yard/Porch:
~ 30 high Common Grackles
2 Yellow-rumped Warblers
1 Great-crested Flycatcher, first of year.
1 Black-throated Green Warbler

So, clearly diversity was way up, but I was actually expecting more birds. When I went up to Bradbury Mountain, I was also expecting a lot of birds, but in this case, I was treated to a helluva lot more than I expected! In fact, it was one of the best days that I have ever spent up on the mountain, with great diversity, and lots of excitement. A shockingly late Rough-legged Hawk in the morning was the big highlight, but recording 334 migrant raptors on May 6th was also incredibly surprising. In fact, this was the 2nd highest tally all season! There was also an exceptional passerine flight, including my first 6 Bobolinks of the spring and 81 Yellow-rumped Warblers

A complete summary of the day, and the day’s hawkcount, can be found here.

Birds were once again on the move Tuesday night, as exemplified by the 10:00pm radar.

However, a weak cold front was passing overnight. Although scattered showers remained to the north and east of the Greater Portland area, the cold front did switch the winds from light southwest to a gusty northwest. By 1:00am, the front had passed. Notice how many fewer birds are in the air? A classic wind-shift fallout.

And, the 4:00am radar shows how little was one the move by morning (compare with the 10pm image):

In other words, Wednesday morning was rocking! Unfortunately, it is a day that I have to arrive to the store early, so I couldn’t head down to a place like Portland’s Evergreen Cemetery, which I think would have been great. However, sticking close to home and enjoying a long walk at Hedgehog Mountain Park, I was more than pleased to record 10 species of warblers, including my first Black-throated Blue (2), Prairie (1), and American Redstart (1) warblers of the spring, plus my first Least Flycatcher of the spring.

Then, upon arriving at the store, I was greeted by a Baltimore Oriole, my first of the year, chattering from atop our orange and jelly feeder. A Field Sparrow – my first of the year, and only the 2nd we’ve ever had at the feeding station, and my first White-crowned Sparrow of the spring were also present, joined by 6 Chipping Sparrows (up from 3 on Monday), and a new White-throated Sparrow.

Yup, it’s on!