Tag Archives: Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

June 1, 2023

Leave a reply
Great Crested Flycatcher

Great Crested Flycatcher (click to see the larger version)

Migration doesn’t come to a screeching halt when May ends. We always get some spillover into early June, and this June 1 proved the point. Over 70 species were reported to eBird by all observers, and I ended up with 60 species in about 2.5 hours of effort. My migrant highlights include

Semipalmated Plover
Dunlin
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Swainson’s Thrush
Bobolink
Northern Waterthrush
Connecticut Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler
Dickcissel

All of the above birds are bona fide migrants that don’t breed at Montrose. I also had Great Crested and Willow Flycatchers and Eastern Wood-Pewees. These birds have bred at Montrose or nearby but could just as well be migrants. The point is you should keep checking Montrose into early June. The pace has slowed down from mid May but we’re still seeing a variety of shorebirds, warblers, flycatchers, and other birds. Why not squeeze every last drop out of migration while it lasts?

May 19, 2023 – The Best Day

American Wigeon

American Wigeon (click to see the larger version)

May 19 will go down as the best day for migration in 2023. Montrose was full of warblers, thrushes, and flycatchers. It was also full of birders. Over 140 species were reported to eBird by all observers, and several people topped 100, which only happens a couple times each year. My highlights include

American Wigeon (late)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Ruddy Turnstone (4)
Common Tern
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Golden-winged Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Mourning Warbler (6!)
Hooded Warbler
Summer Tanager
Dickcissel

Migration will start to wind down, but late May is still an excellent time for later warblers and vireos, and flycatchers will continue to increase through the end of the month.

Early Migrant Passerines, August 17, 2022

Olive-sided Flycatcher

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

We’re about a month from the peak of songbird migration but we’ve been seeing small numbers of warblers and flycatchers for a few weeks. This is typical and expected. Migration starts as a trickle and gradually gains momentum until the peak. Some of these early migrants include Least, Yellow-bellied and Olive-sided Flycatchers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and Cape May, Bay-breasted, and Black-and-white Warblers among others. August is shorebird month but after you’re done checking the beach head up to the Magic Hedge for some early warblering.

June 3, 2022

Olive-sided Flycatcher

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

A sample of birds from Montrose on June 3. This is why you should keep birding in June

Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Snowy Plover
Piping Plover
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Franklin’s Gull
Great Egret
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Orchard Oriole
Dickcissel

Lots of photos are on my eBird checklist for the day, URL below.

eBird Checklist
June 3, 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