Magee area migration 5/25

For the last three nights (Tuesday through Thursday) the winds were southerly, and the last three days (Wednesday through Friday, May 23 - 25) saw excellent numbers and substantial turnover of late-season migrants in the area of Magee Marsh, n.w. Ohio. Today, Friday 5/25, there were good numbers of migrants at all the spots in this immediate area: the Magee Marsh boardwalk, the woodlots at Ottawa NWR main unit, the Black Swamp Bird Observatory banding station (on the Navarre Unit of Ottawa NWR, about five miles east of Magee), and the woodlot at Metzger Marsh, to the west of Magee. The makeup of the flight was about as expected for late May: lots of Empidonax flycatchers of all five species, with Yellow-bellied Flycatcher especially numerous today; both cuckoos in good numbers, especially Yellow-billed; very large numbers of Swainson's Thrushes but also a decent number of Gray-cheeked Thrushes today; many Blackpoll Warblers and American Redstarts, but also fair numbers of Canada and Mourning Warblers and a fair scattering of at least 15 other warbler species. This evening we saw at least one Connecticut Warbler, possibly two, in the area of the tower at the west end of the Magee boardwalk, and I heard that one was seen earlier in the woodlot at Metzger.

The mudflats at Metzger Marsh continue to see rapid turnover in the birds present. I was there today just before a heavy rain hit in the early afternoon, and went back an hour later after the rain ceased, and even in that time there was turnover, with two Black-bellied Plovers and an American Golden-Plover before the rain, many Forster's Terns and a lone Bonaparte's Gull after the rain. There are still impressive numbers of Ruddy Turnstones. Two American Pipits here seemed to be getting a bit late.

With the weather conditions tonight, I would expect that not many of the current migrants would leave, and numbers and variety should be excellent for the weekend.