Yet another storm passed to our south, failing to produce any rainfall for us, and our gardens. With the storm moving offshore overnight, and a light northerly wind for us, only a light migration occurred Monday night into Tuesday.

Jeannette and I spent the early morning hours checking three local parks: Hedgehog Mountain, Florida Lake, and Hidden Pond. We finished with 13 species of warblers, including our first Canada Warbler of the year at Florida Lake. A Wood Thrush at The Hog was also an “FOY,” but the highlight for me was a Solitary Sandpiper in a small puddle in the playing fields, my 125th species for this patch! An adult Northern Goshawk at Florida Lake was another treat, as were two Wilson’s Snipe and a great look at an American Bittern at Hidden Pond.

So, the day started out great – with some good birds, and a good mix of migrants. Wish I could say the same for the Hawkwatch! I “counted” from 9 to 1, and Jeannette from 1 to 5. We finished with a whopping 7 birds, thanks to the continuing stiff northeasterly breeze. Hey, at least it beat the goose egg of Monday! Very few non-raptors were deemed migrating as well, but my ½-day list of 39 species seen and/or heard from the summit did include 8 species of warblers.

Mostly calm winds, at least at the lower levels, allowed for the passage of a few more birds overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. A couple of hours at Hedgehog Mountain Park produced 10 species of warblers, led by 22 Ovenbirds and 15 Black-throated Green Warblers. But, for the first morning in almost two weeks, I did not record a “first-of-year.”

With the deep offshore low finally beginning to pull away, and high pressure now building in, lighter winds, clear skies, and calm nights should allow for a couple of good days – and especially nights – of migration.

Oh yeah, by the way, I just learned that the White-faced Ibis was actually only the 4th or 5th record for the state!!!!