Saturday update, 5/22

Saturday May 22: Brief update on the current situation in the migrant traps on the Lake Erie shoreline in n.w. Ohio. The Kirtland's Warbler found on the east beach at Magee yesterday has not been refound today. (Incidentally, analysis of photos last night showed that the May 21 bird was definitely a different individual from the one found on May 14.) As of 2 p.m., there hasn't been a cooperative Connecticut Warbler in the area either, but there have been brief looks at a couple of spots, including near 20b and 24b on the Magee boardwalk (see the BSBO map of the boardwalk for specifics) and on the trail behind the Sportsmen's Migratory Bird Center. There are probably multiple individuals in the area, so it's just a matter of patient searching (and luck, of course). The best habitat is probably in the woods behind the visitors' center at Ottawa NWR.

Aside from these two specialty warblers, there has been a good movement of migrants in general in the area, including good numbers of Empidonax flycatchers, Yellow-billed and Black-billed cuckoos, and various late-season warblers like Mourning and Wilson's.

Illustrating the perils of trying to predict bird migration on the basis of weather, none of the weather forecasts for the last two days have turned out to be correct here in n.w. Ohio! The heavy rains predicted for last night failed to materialize, and right now the wind is from the west, even though it was supposed to be out of the south all day. So this should be taken with a grain of salt ... but if tonight's weather is as predicted, with light winds from a southerly direction all night, there should be a good arrival of birds on Sunday morning, May 23. Best bets for first thing in the morning would be the woodlots right along the lake shore, such as at Magee, Metzger Marsh, or East Harbor State Park, but later in the day there might be as much action a little farther inland, such as the interior woods at Ottawa NWR.

Incidentally, Jerry Jourdan saw a first-cycle Little Gull at Pt Mouillee in s.e. Michigan this morning, and it was last seen flying east over Lake Erie. If anyone is near the beach at Magee, Metzger Marsh, Maumee Bay State Park, etc., this weekend, it would be worthwhile to take a second look at any gatherings of gulls or terns.