Tag Archives: Mourning Warbler

May 12, 2022 – Warblers

Blackburnian Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler (click to see the larger version)

Continuing the migration splendor for the week, Thursday, May 12 was the best warbler day of the spring at Montrose. I ended up with 26 species, which is about as good as we do. If you were at Montrose on that day you couldn’t help but be impressed with the volume and variety of warblers. My best finds include

Worm-eating Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler (3)
Northern Parula (3)
Mourning Warbler
Canada Warbler

Of the regularly occurring warblers, Worm-eating is the rarest and least expected. In addition, the large numbers of Magnolia, Chestnut-sided, and Blackburnian were a joy to look at. We wait all year for a handful of days with color like this. Link to my eBird checklist for the day below.

eBird Checklist
May 12, 2022

June 4, 2121 – More Late Migrants

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Olive-sided Flycatcher (click to see the larger version)

Migration is still going on, although at a reduced rate. Just two weeks ago Montrose was overrun with warblers and other migrant passerines. Today I had only two obvious warbler migrants. This shows how fast spring migration winds down. Birds are in a hurry to get to their breeding grounds and they don’t linger long. Bonafide migrants I had at Montrose on June 4

Dunlin
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Mourning Warbler
American Redstart

It’s hard to believe that in just a few weeks the first southbound migrants will start appearing at Montrose. Link to my eBird checklist for the morning below.

eBird Checklist
June 4, 2021

June 1, 2021 – Still Going

American Avocets

American Avocets working the western panne in the Dunes (click to see the larger version)

Just because May has ended doesn’t mean migration comes to a screeching halt. The following are just some of the bonafide migrants I saw at Montrose on June 1

American Avocet
Semipalmated Plover
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Philadelphia Vireo
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Mourning Warbler
Canada Warbler
Dickcissel

I ended up with 60 species in about 3 hours of birding. The first week in June isn’t as frenetic as mid-May but is still worth birding, and Montrose tends to hold migrants later in spring migration than most other places. Link to my eBird checklist below.

eBird Checklist
June 1, 2021

Still Going, June 1, 2019

Just because the calendar says it’s June doesn’t mean migration comes to a screeching halt. Early June can be good for shorebirds, flycatchers, late warblers, and other stragglers, and Montrose is a great place to see this late spring migration. Such was the case on June 1. I tallied 64 species in 3 hours of morning birding. My highlights include

Dunlin
Semipalmated Sandpiper (4)
Sanderling (5)
Black-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (4)
Alder Flycatcher (2)
Willow Flycatcher
Blue Jay (20)
Swainson’s Thrush (4)
12 species of warblers, including Northern Waterthrush, Black-and-white, Mourning, Connecticut, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Canada, and Wilson’s

Link to my eBird checklist for the day below.

eBird Checklist
https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S56957065

June 6, 2014

I birded Montrose for a little while this morning, June 6. At this time of the year I don’t have very high expectations and I go more for the exercise than anything else, but I always take my bins just in case. Here’s what a I had:

Red-breasted Merganser – 1, the continuing female in the lake at the east end of the beach
Green-winged Teal – 1 female in the lake at the east end of the beach
Black-crowned Night-Heron – 1 at the east end of the harbor
Dunlin – 1, the continuing bird in the fluddle next to the fishhook pier inside the protected area
Semipalmated Sandpiper – 16 on the beach inside the protected area
Great Crested Flycatcher – 1
Alder Flycatcher – 1
Blue Jay – 1
Mourning Warbler – 2, 1 female and 1 male
Dickcissel – 1

The nesting Red-winged Blackbirds are now in kamikaze mode. I was repeatedly dive bombed by an aggressive male near the forbidden zone.

June 1, 2014

I spent a couple of hours at Montrose this morning, trying to ring a few more drops out of migration. For June 1 it wasn’t half bad. Here’s some of what I saw:

Semipalmated Sandpiper – 4 on the beach
Semipalmated Plover – 1 on the beach
Ruby-throated Hummingbird – 1 male in the Magic Hedge (Nesting? Seems late for a migrant.)
Black-billed Cuckoo – 1
Alder Flycatcher – 3
Eastern Wood-Pewee – 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher – 1
Swainson’s Thrush – 2
Red-eyed Vireo – 3
Blackpoll Warbler – 2, 1 male and 1 female
Tennessee Warbler – 1
Magnolia Warbler – 2
American Redstart – ~5
Mourning Warbler – 1
Bobolink – 1 male
Dickcissel – 1 female

It ain’t over until you know who sings.