Beaver River, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia – Autumn 2018

Beaver River Monitoring Station with 21c Microphone

Weekly Reports at Beaver River for the Autumn 2018

 

Seasonal Summary

 

2nd Week of November

Fall migration finally appeared to be closing this week. An abundance of rain and wind resulted in 4 nights of zero or near zero flight calls. Total numbers of birds were only a quarter of the previous week.

Nonetheless, it appeared that the last of the White-throated Sparrows were pushing through whenever the weather cleared. They were the most common species with an estimated 97 birds followed by Dark-eyed Junco with 58 birds. The first Snow Bunting of the season was recorded on the morning of 14 November. The only rare bird for the week was a Vesper Sparrow on the evening of 8 November.

Additional details are provided in the table below and the graph here. Data on individual species can be found on eBird.

Species Total Calls Estimated Birds
White-throated Sparrow 176 97
Dark-eyed Junco 114 58
sparrow sp. 62 43
Song Sparrow 56 37
American Goldfinch 303 28
Chipping Sparrow 17 11
passerine sp. 12 10
Savannah Sparrow 12 8
American Tree Sparrow 8 6
Fox Sparrow 9 6
American Robin 7 5
Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow 5 5
Yellow-rumped Warbler 9 5
Pine Siskin 4 2
American Woodcock 1 1
warbler sp. 1 1
Palm Warbler 1 1
Snow Bunting 1 1
Vesper Sparrow 1 1
Total 799 326

 

1st Week of November

Nocturnal migration was down by about 50% from the previous week but there was still a strong migration of sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers for this late in the season.

The most common species of the week was White-throated Sparrow with an estimated 410 birds. The next most common sparrows was Dark-eyed Junco with an estimated 213 birds, Song Sparrow (110), Chipping Sparrow (63), Savannah Sparrow (61), Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow (39), Fox Sparrow (22), American Tree Sparrow (8), and White-crowned Sparrow (2).

Seasonally appropriate warblers were Yellow-rumped Warblers (130), Palm Warbler (17), Blackpoll Warbler (4), and Common Yellowthroat (4). Seasonally late warblers were Black-and-white Warbler (2), and Northern Parula (1).

The other late species was a Gray Catbird.

Further details are available in the table below and the graph here. Data on individual species can be found on eBird.

Species Total Calls Estimated Birds
White-throated Sparrow 752 410
Dark-eyed Junco 425 213
Yellow-rumped Warbler 199 130
sparrow sp. 178 128
Song Sparrow 163 110
passerine sp. 84 69
Chipping Sparrow 113 63
Savannah Sparrow 87 61
American Goldfinch 481 41
Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow 63 39
American Robin 56 31
Fox Sparrow 34 22
Hermit Thrush 44 22
Palm Warbler 24 17
American Tree Sparrow 13 8
Blackpoll Warbler 4 4
Common Yellowthroat 7 4
Black-and-White Warbler 3 2
Pine Siskin 2 2
White-crowned Sparrow 2 2
finch sp. 1 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 1 1
Gray Catbird 1 1
Greater Yellowlegs 8 1
Northern Parula 1 1
warbler sp. 2 1

 

4th Week of October

The last week of October was characterized by a large movement of sparrows, with total numbers of all species almost equaling the density of migration during the first week of the month. The most common sparrow was White-throated Sparrow (estimated 751 birds) followed by Song Sparrow (194), Savannah Sparrow (162), Chipping Sparrow (122), Dark-eyed Junco (121), Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow (95), White-crowned Sparrow (27), Fox Sparrow (18), and Clay-colored Sparrow (1).

However, the second most common bird was Yellow-rumped Warbler with an estimated 432 birds. There were also 98 Palm Warbler, 18 Common Yellowthroat, and 13 Blackpoll Warbler. Late migrating warblers included Northern Parula (6), Magnolia Warbler (4), Black-and-White Warbler (3), and Black-throated Blue Warbler (1).

It was the first week since August without a Swainson’s Thrush but there were an estimated 51 Hermit Thrush, 1 Veery, and 1 Wood Thrush.

Another late migrating bird for the week was a Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Further details for the week can be found in the table below and the graph here. Details on individual species can be viewed on eBird.

Species Total Calls Estimated Birds
White-throated Sparrow 1449 751
Yellow-rumped Warbler 766 432
sparrow sp. 417 246
Song Sparrow 346 194
Savannah Sparrow 230 162
Chipping Sparrow 187 122
Dark-eyed Junco 215 121
Palm Warbler 145 98
Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow 153 95
passerine sp. 77 64
Hermit Thrush 89 51
White-crowned Sparrow 32 27
Fox Sparrow 22 18
Common Yellowthroat 18 17
warbler sp. 17 16
American Robin 29 15
Blackpoll Warbler 15 13
Golden-crowned Kinglet 17 11
American Goldfinch 29 6
Northern Parula 7 6
Pine Siskin 15 5
Magnolia Warbler 6 4
American Pipit 4 3
Black-and-White Warbler 3 3
American Woodcock 9 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 4 2
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 1
Clay-colored Sparrow 1 1
finch sp. 1 1
Greater Yellowlegs 3 1
Horned Lark 1 1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1 1
Semipalmated Plover 2 1
Veery 1 1
Wilson’s Snipe 6 1
Wood Thrush 1 1
Total 4,319 2,494
 
 3rd Week of October

Normally the number of birds in nocturnal migration declines rapidly after October 15th. Nonetheless, total flight calls and estimated birds were down only slightly over the previous week.

Yellow-rumped Warbler was the most common nocturnal migrant with an estimated 266 birds (only one less than last week!). The next most common were Song Sparrow and White-throated Sparrow at 71 and 70 estimated birds respectively. There were still good numbers of Palm Warblers (66) and Blackpoll Warblers (24). Eleven warbler species were seen during the week. For other sparrows, Savannah Sparrow and Chipping Sparrow were close to equal in estimated numbers (47 and 42). Other sparrows included Dark-eyed Junco (24), Swamp/Lincoln’s Sparrow (23), White-crowned Sparrow (18), and Fox Sparrow (5).

While finches are primarily diurnal migrants, during their peak migration season in October, it is not unusual to detect finches that are departing before civil sunrise. This week an estimated 19 American Goldfinch, 12 Purple Finch, and 1 Pine Siskin were recorded.

The first nocturnally migrating American Woodcocks (2) were also heard along with a late Spotted Sandpiper and Greater Yellowlegs.

Migrating Golden-crowned Kinglets were also detected with an estimated 11 birds. Ruby-crowned Kinglets do not have a nocturnal flight call so are rarely heard unless one pauses long enough to give its “jeddit” call.

A late Swainson’s Thrush was recorded on the evening of 19 October.

Details by date can be found in the “Species Map” section of eBird. Totals for the week are summarized in the table below. A graph of total calls by date can be seen here.

  Total Estimated
Species Calls Birds
Yellow-rumped Warbler 543 266
Song Sparrow 141 71
sparrow sp. 118 70
White-throated Sparrow 109 70
Palm Warbler 105 66
Savannah Sparrow 72 47
Chipping Sparrow 85 42
warbler sp. 29 25
passerine sp. 32 25
Blackpoll Warbler 29 24
Dark-eyed Junco 49 24
Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow 32 23
American Goldfinch 93 19
White-crowned Sparrow 23 18
Common Yellowthroat 18 13
Purple Finch 69 12
Golden-crowned Kinglet 17 11
Northern Parula 13 9
Magnolia Warbler 9 8
Black-and-White Warbler 9 6
Fox Sparrow 6 5
Black-throated Blue Warbler 7 3
American Woodcock 3 2
Black-throated Green Warbler 3 2
Spotted Sandpiper 5 2
American Pipit 3 1
American Robin 2 1
Greater Yellowlegs 6 1
Nashville Warbler 1 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 1 1
Pine Siskin 1 1
Swainson’s Thrush 1 1
Total 1,634 870

2nd Week of October

Flight calls and estimated nocturnal migrants were down by half from the previous week. Yellow-rumped Warbler remained the most common migrant with an estimated 267 birds, followed by Blackpoll Warbler (167), and White-throated Sparrow (113).

Unusual or rare birds for the week included 4 Indigo Buntings, 1 Clay-colored Sparrow, 1 Field Sparrow, 1 Orange-crowned Sparrow, 1 Pine Warbler, and 1 Prairie Warbler.

Details by date can be found in the “Species Map” section of eBird. Totals for the week are summarized in the table below.

  Total Estimated
Species Calls Birds
Yellow-rumped Warbler 530 267
Blackpoll Warbler 246 167
White-throated Sparrow 222 113
Song Sparrow 151 81
Palm Warbler 123 78
Common Yellowthroat 87 62
sparrow sp. 83 55
Magnolia Warbler 64 49
Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow 67 46
Savannah Sparrow 60 41
warbler sp. 44 39
passerine sp. 24 24
Northern Parula 41 21
Black-throated Blue Warbler 18 11
American Goldfinch 26 10
Black-and-White Warbler 12 10
Bay-breasted Warbler 13 10
Dark-eyed Junco 17 8
Blackburnian Warbler 8 7
Nashville Warbler 11 7
Swainson’s Thrush 13 7
Chipping Sparrow 7 5
White-crowned Sparrow 6 5
Indigo Bunting 4 4
Cape May Warbler 4 3
Fox Sparrow 5 3
American Redstart 4 2
Black-throated Green Warbler 1 1
Clay-colored Sparrow 2 1
Field Sparrow 1 1
Hermit Thrush 1 1
Orange-crowned Warbler 1 1
Pine Warbler 2 1
Prairie Warbler 1 1
Total 1,899 1,142

1st Week of October

Night flight calls increased by 34% over the last week of September. The 1st week of October often has high nightly counts but this year, the highest count for the autumn migration occurred on the night of 5-6 October with 2,252 flight calls representing an estimated 1,270 birds.

The most common species for the week was Yellow-rumped Warbler with an estimated 412 birds followed by Palm Warbler (305), Blackpoll Warbler (229), and Common Yellowthroat (217). There were another 14 warbler species recorded during the week; a good diversity for so late in the warbler migration.

The most common sparrow was White-throated (177 estimated birds) and Savannah Sparrow (155). Other sparrows included Song Sparrow (85), Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow (58), Chipping Sparrow (56), Dark-eyed Junco (10), White-crowned Sparrow (5), Fox Sparrow (3), and Vesper Sparrow (1).

There were still good numbers of Swainson’s Thrushes (89 estimated birds), a few Hermit Thrushes (7), and a single Veery.

Unusual or less common birds for the week included: Indigo Bunting (estimated 5 birds), House Finch (2), Black-crowned Night-Heron (1), and Northern Mockingbird (1)

Further information is presented in the table below.

  Total Estimated
Species Calls Birds
Yellow-rumped Warbler 801 412
Palm Warbler 627 305
Blackpoll Warbler 351 229
Common Yellowthroat 327 217
White-throated Sparrow 280 177
Savannah Sparrow 218 155
Swainson’s Thrush 159 89
Song Sparrow 159 85
Magnolia Warbler 108 74
warbler sp. 89 72
Northern Parula 101 66
passerine sp. 74 60
sparrow sp. 89 59
Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow 93 58
Chipping Sparrow 106 56
Black-and-White Warbler 42 35
Black-throated Green Warbler 35 26
Blackburnian Warbler 25 23
Cape May Warbler 27 18
Black-throated Blue Warbler 21 17
Dark-eyed Junco 20 10
Ovenbird 13 10
Bay-breasted Warbler 11 9
American Redstart 13 8
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 13 8
Hermit Thrush 14 7
Semipalmated Plover 16 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 10 5
Indigo Bunting 6 5
White-crowned Sparrow 7 5
Chestnut-sided Warbler 7 4
Fox Sparrow 5 3
Greater Yellowlegs 16 3
House Finch 2 2
Killdeer 4 2
Tennessee Warbler 4 2
Wilson’s Warbler 2 2
American Goldfinch 3 1
American Pipit 1 1
American Robin 1 1
Black-bellied Plover 1 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 8 1
Nashville Warbler 1 1
Northern Mockingbird 4 1
Solitary Sandpiper 2 1
Veery 1 1
Vesper Sparrow 1 1
Total 3,918 2,334

4th Week of September

Nocturnal migration was down considering in the fourth week of September (the morning of 21 September to the morning of 30 September). Nonetheless one of the five peak nights of the season occurred on the night of 27-28 September. It was the first big night of the autumn for Blackpoll Warblers with 344 calls representing an estimated 163 birds.

Blackpoll Warblers were the dominant species during the whole period with an estimated 262 birds. Common Yellowthroats and Yellow-rumped Warblers were the second and third most abundant nocturnal species with an estimated 212 and 148 estimated birds respectively.

Swainson’s Thrush rapidly declined in numbers to only 52 estimated birds for the period while Hermit Thrushes were remarkably sparse.

The sparrow push took on greater strength with an estimated 104 Savannah Sparrows, 96 White-throated Sparrows, 37 Song Sparrows, 12 Chipping Sparrows, 11 Swamp/Lincoln’s Sparrows, and 5 Dark-eyed Juncos.

Rare or unusual birds for the week included 2 Pine Warblers, 2 Indigo Buntings, 1 Prairie Warbler, and 1 late Canada Warbler.

The table below presents a summary for the week and detailed information for each night can be found on eBird.

Species Total Calls Estimated Birds
Blackpoll Warbler 477 262
Common Yellowthroat 308 212
Yellow-rumped Warbler 258 148
Warbler sp. 186 146
Savannah Sparrow 160 104
Palm Warbler 167 103
Northern Parula 164 102
White-throated Sparrow 154 96
Black-and-White Warbler 128 88
Magnolia Warbler 115 85
Black-throated Green Warbler 94 66
Swainson’s Thrush 74 52
Song Sparrow 86 37
American Redstart 54 35
Ovenbird 40 30
Blackburnian Warbler 37 29
Black-throated Blue Warbler 38 29
Passerine sp. 24 23
Sparrow sp. 23 21
Greater Yellowlegs 134 20
Chestnut-sided Warbler 24 19
Cape May Warbler 29 17
Nashville Warbler 15 14
Chipping Sparrow 17 12
Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow 14 11
Tennessee Warbler 16 9
Yellow Warbler 11 8
Wilson’s Warbler 10 7
Dark-eyed Junco 11 5
Bay-breasted Warbler 4 4
Northern Waterthrush 7 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet 5 3
Least Sandpiper 3 3
Mourning Warbler 3 3
Solitary Sandpiper 9 3
Indigo Bunting 3 2
Pine Warbler 4 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 2 2
Veery 2 2
American Goldfinch 5 1
American Robin 1 1
Canada Warbler 1 1
Hermit Thrush 1 1
Prairie Warbler 1 1
Semipalmated Plover 1 1
Spotted Sandpiper 2 1
Total 2,922 1,825

3rd Week of September

Nocturnal migration was down by 21% (total calls) and 27% (estimated birds) from the previous week. However, the week saw two of the four peak counts of the season so far with 1625 and 1696 total calls on the nights of 19 and 20 September.

The most abundant bird was Common Yellowthroat with 893 calls representing an estimated 489 birds. Other common warblers for the week were Black-and-white Warbler (262 birds), Magnolia Warbler (150), Northern Parula (150), American Redstart (139), and Blackpoll Warbler (133).

The second most abundant bird was Swainson’s Thrush with 578 total calls representing an estimated 272 birds.

Sparrows continued to increase with 82 estimated Savannah Sparrows and 73 estimated White-throated Sparrows.

There were no rare birds but infrequent birds included an estimated 4 Gray-cheeked Thrush and 1 Prairie Warbler.

A summary table and chart are provided below.

  Total Estimated
Species Calls Birds
Common Yellowthroat 893 489
Swainson’s Thrush 578 272
Black-and-White Warbler 407 262
warbler sp. 317 243
Magnolia Warbler 209 150
Northern Parula 235 150
American Redstart 207 139
Blackpoll Warbler 184 133
Black-throated Green Warbler 120 91
Savannah Sparrow 112 82
White-throated Sparrow 102 73
Palm Warbler 98 65
Ovenbird 68 56
Cape May Warbler 74 52
passerine sp. 51 47
Yellow-rumped Warbler 56 46
Black-throated Blue Warbler 56 44
Greater Yellowlegs 338 44
Chestnut-sided Warbler 51 38
Northern Waterthrush 41 35
Nashville Warbler 46 30
Bay-breasted Warbler 35 29
sparrow sp. 44 28
Veery 52 28
Mourning Warbler 21 17
Bobolink 20 15
Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow 16 14
Blackburnian Warbler 16 13
Wilson’s Warbler 18 13
Song Sparrow 29 12
Yellow Warbler 16 12
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 18 8
Tennessee Warbler 15 8
Chipping Sparrow 11 7
Semipalmated Plover 14 6
Gray-cheeked Thrush 6 4
Least Sandpiper 7 4
Canada Warbler 5 3
Hermit Thrush 6 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch 7 3
Solitary Sandpiper 4 2
Prairie Warbler 1 1
Spotted Sandpiper 2 1
Total 4,606 2,772

2nd Week of September

Nocturnal migration continued to rise at Beaver River, Yarmouth County, with a 65% and 64% increase in the number of calls and estimated birds over the previous week. Total calls equalled 5,811 for an estimated total of 3,822 individual birds. Over a thousand calls were recorded on three nights beginning on 8, 9, and 12 September.

On the morning of 9 September there was large fallout of Northern Waterthrush in which 73 estimated birds were recorded in 26 minutes. This link shows the number of Northern Waterthrush calls occurring over 19 seconds, while this link is an example of 3 calls recorded within one-third of a second (the call above the middle call may be an second band of that call or a fourth call). Included in this fallout were 21 Bay-breasted Warblers.

The most common species for the week were Common Yellowthroat (an estimated 466 birds), Black-and-White Warbler (357), American Redstart (300), Northern Parula (278), Swainson’s Thrush (261), Magnolia Warbler (231), and Black-throated Green Warbler (181).

The most common sparrow was Savannah Sparrow with an estimated 119 birds.

There were a couple late Empidonax flycatchers (Yellow-bellied Flycatcher at 2300 hours on 7 September and Alder Flycatcher at 0052 hours on 9 September) while some of the later warbler migrants such as Blackpoll Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Palm Warbler showed a stronger presence.

Rare or unusual birds for the week included 1 Dickcissel (10 September at 0219 hours), 1 Blue-winged/Golden-winged Warbler (13 September at 0402 hours), and 1 Vesper Sparrow (8 September at 0109 hours).

Further details are included in the table below, and nightly checklists can be found on eBird.

  Total Estimated
Species Calls Birds
Common Yellowthroat 756 466
Black-and-White Warbler 554 357
Warbler sp. 387 317
American Redstart 453 300
Northern Parula 430 278
Swainson’s Thrush 535 261
Magnolia Warbler 325 231
Black-throated Green Warbler 254 181
Ovenbird 163 135
Northern Waterthrush 292 131
Bay-breasted Warbler 198 123
Savannah Sparrow 179 119
Blackpoll Warbler 122 93
Chestnut-sided Warbler 118 93
Black-throated Blue Warbler 110 77
Wilson’s Warbler 94 76
Cape May Warbler 116 66
Palm Warbler 71 58
Yellow-rumped Warbler 60 51
White-throated Sparrow 59 45
Canada Warbler 44 37
Songbird sp. 41 34
Tennessee Warbler 46 34
Yellow Warbler 50 34
Veery 48 33
Nashville Warbler 43 31
Sparrow sp. 38 27
Blackburnian Warbler 27 22
Song Sparrow 47 20
Mourning Warbler 22 18
Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow 16 15
Semipalmated Plover 36 15
Bobolink 24 13
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 16 11
Red-breasted Nuthatch 12 4
Solitary Sandpiper 9 4
Least Sandpiper 4 2
Prairie Warbler 4 2
Alder Flycatcher 1 1
Dark-eyed Junco 1 1
Dickcissel 1 1
Hermit Thrush 1 1
Nelson’s Sparrow 1 1
Blue-winged/Golden-winged Warbler 1 1
Vesper Sparrow 1 1
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 1 1
Total 5,811 3,822

1st Week of September

Nocturnal migration at Beaver River during the first week of September had the highest call count and estimated number of birds for the autumn migration to this point. It was up considerably (20%) from the last week of August (502 calls per night compared to 420), and up 5% from the 3rd week of August (477 calls per night).

American Redstarts still continued to dominate in abundance with an estimated 379 birds. The most common other warblers were Black-and-White Warbler (202) and Common Yellowthroat (200). There was a very large flight of Wilson’s Warblers on the night of 31 August to 1 September with 222 calls and 122 estimated birds. They even outnumbered the American Redstarts on that night.

The Swainson’s Thrush migration continued strongly, and there was a noticeable start of the sparrow migration with an estimated 58 Savannah Sparrows. The Red-breasted Nuthatch eruption continued although it has been declining over the last three weeks.

Unusual birds for the week included 2 Vesper Sparrows (one at one at 2208 hours on 1 September and another at 2111 hours on 6 September), and 2 Indigo Buntings (one at 2253 hours on 1 September and one on 2204 hours on 6 September).

A summary for the week is presented in the table below and nightly details can be found on eBird.

  Total Estimated
Species Calls Birds
American Redstart 642 379
Black-and-White Warbler 294 202
Common Yellowthroat 294 200
Wilson’s Warbler 304 185
Northern Parula 255 170
Swainson’s Thrush 271 142
Magnolia Warbler 149 116
Chestnut-sided Warbler 111 80
Black-throated Green Warbler 80 66
Northern Waterthrush 92 64
Ovenbird 76 64
Savannah Sparrow 88 58
Red-breasted Nuthatch 135 54
Yellow Warbler 51 44
Black-throated Blue Warbler 62 43
Blackpoll Warbler 46 37
Cape May Warbler 40 31
Bay-breasted Warbler 31 26
Blackburnian Warbler 29 25
Nashville Warbler 32 24
Canada Warbler 20 19
White-throated Sparrow 17 15
Tennessee Warbler 15 13
Mourning Warbler 11 10
Song Sparrow 14 9
Palm Warbler 10 7
Yellow-rumped Warbler 7 7
Semipalmated Plover 14 6
Veery 12 6
Greater Yellowlegs 35 4
Lincoln’s/Swamp Sparrow 4 3
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 7 3
Bobolink 2 2
Indigo Bunting 2 2
Solitary Sandpiper 3 2
Vesper Sparrow 2 2
Baltimore Oriole 2 1
Cedar Waxwing 2 1
Chipping Sparrow 2 1
Scarlet Tanager 1 1
warbler sp. 213 174
sparrow sp. 11 8
passerine sp. 28 25
Total 3,516 2,331

4th Week of August

Nocturnal migration proceeded at an overall slower pace during the last week August except for the last night. From the evening of 30 August to the morning of 31 August, 1,845 night flight calls and an estimated 1,124 birds were recorded. It consisted of a large flight dominated by American Redstarts (estimated 151 birds) and Swainson’s Thrush (114).

Most of the rare birds for the week occurred in this large flight and included 1 Wood Thrush (0225 hours), and 1 Dickcissel (0545 hours) on 31 August. Also an Indigo Bunting was heard for the 3rd week in a row at 0226 hours on 27 August.

Overall for the week, the most abundant warblers were American Redstart (344 estimated birds), Chestnut-sided Warbler (218), Northern Parula (215), Common Yellowthroat (178), Black-and-white Warbler (163), Magnolia Warbler (147), and Ovenbird (106). With a total of 23 warbler species, Canada Warblers were down to 84 estimated birds compared to 133 in the previous week while there was a noticeable increase in Black-throated Blue Warblers from 19 to 62 birds.

Thrush migration was in full force with an estimated 130 Swainson’s Thrush and 22 Veery for the week. Sparrow numbers were still very low and there was just a few shorebirds.

A summary of the week is found in the table below and nightly data is available on eBird.

    Estimated
  Calls Birds
American Redstart 584 344
Chestnut-sided Warbler 342 218
Northern Parula 339 215
Common Yellowthroat 285 178
Black-and-White Warbler 222 163
Magnolia Warbler 209 147
Swainson’s Thrush 280 130
Ovenbird 132 106
Canada Warbler 115 84
Northern Waterthrush 113 80
Yellow Warbler 91 71
Black-throated Blue Warbler 82 62
Red-breasted Nuthatch 164 62
Black-throated Green Warbler 78 55
Blackpoll Warbler 55 50
Bay-breasted Warbler 41 35
Nashville Warbler 45 33
Savannah Sparrow 35 27
Tennessee Warbler 29 22
Veery 33 22
Wilson’s Warbler 34 22
Cape May Warbler 27 21
Blackburnian Warbler 20 19
Yellow-rumped Warbler 13 10
Solitary Sandpiper 16 6
Song Sparrow 18 6
Palm Warbler 6 5
White-throated Sparrow 6 5
Prairie Warbler 5 4
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 8 4
Bobolink 5 3
Least Sandpiper 4 3
Mourning Warbler 2 2
Scarlet Tanager 2 2
Dickcissel 1 1
Greater Yellowlegs 8 1
House Finch 1 1
Indigo Bunting 1 1
Semipalmated Plover 1 1
Wood Thrush 1 1
warbler sp. 315 244
sparrow sp. 2 2
songbird sp. 15 14
Total 3,785 2,482

3rd Week of August

Nocturnal migration at Beaver River, Yarmouth County, doubled in magnitude over the previous week with a total of 3,344 night flight calls and an estimated 2, 214 birds. This is 2.3 times the magnitude recorded at Cape Forchu for the same week in 2017.

American Redstarts dominated the totals this week with an estimated 385 birds, followed by Chestnut-sided Warbler (207), Magnolia Warbler (191), Northern Parula (158), Canada Warbler (133), Black-and-White Warbler (123), and Yellow Warbler (120). A total of 23 warbler species were recorded.

The number of Canada Warblers is very encouraging. The flight call of the Canada Warbler is very distinctive and is not easily confused with any other species. It is one of the few flight calls that can be quickly learned by ear without software help.

Also of note this week is the number of Red-breasted Nuthatches. Most years I record very few of these, and the estimated 62 birds this week indicates that we are in an eruptive year for this species.

By way of comparison, there was a large flight of American Redstarts at Cape May, New Jersey, about a week after the first large flights at Beaver River. On 24 August, 464 redstarts were counted there in morning flight.

Thrushes began their migration this week with an estimated 26 Swainson’s Thrush and 13 Veery. The only sparrows were an estimated 13 Savannah Sparrow and 1 Chipping Sparrow. The most common shorebird was Solitary Sandpiper (7).

Both Upland Sandpiper and Indigo Bunting gave repeat performances this week. One Upland Sandpiper at 2100 hours on 17 August and one Indigo Bunting at 2129 hours on 21 August.

Details for the week are in the table below, and nightly data can be found on eBird.

    Estimated
Species Calls Birds
American Redstart 665 385
Chestnut-sided Warbler 345 207
Magnolia Warbler 284 191
Northern Parula 252 158
Canada Warbler 185 133
Black-and-White Warbler 164 123
Yellow Warbler 175 120
Common Yellowthroat 133 91
Ovenbird 106 85
Northern Waterthrush 90 72
Red-breasted Nuthatch 160 62
Black-throated Green Warbler 58 46
Blackpoll Warbler 45 37
Blackburnian Warbler 49 36
Bay-breasted Warbler 38 34
Swainson’s Thrush 41 26
Black-throated Blue Warbler 23 19
Tennessee Warbler 21 16
Savannah Sparrow 14 13
Veery 30 13
Wilson’s Warbler 14 11
Nashville Warbler 12 9
Cape May Warbler 10 7
Solitary Sandpiper 14 7
Least Sandpiper 13 6
Yellow-rumped Warbler 8 5
Mourning Warbler 3 3
Prairie Warbler 2 2
Semipalmated Plover 4 2
American Golden-Plover 1 1
Black-bellied Plover 2 1
Bobolink 1 1
Chipping Sparrow 2 1
Indigo Bunting 1 1
Palm Warbler 1 1
Pectoral Sandpiper 1 1
Upland Sandpiper 2 1
warbler sp. 367 279
passerine sp. 8 8
Total 3,344 2,214

2nd Week of August

Nocturnal migration for the week at Beaver River, Yarmouth County, totaled 1,162 estimated birds from 1,759 night flight calls. This total was more than 2.5 times the number of birds recorded at Cape Forchu during the same week last year. At least half of this increase is likely due to the increased sensitivity of the microphone used at Beaver River.

The most common birds were American Redstart (168 estimated birds), Yellow Warbler (141), Chestnut-sided Warbler (134), and Magnolia Warbler (121). There was a very strong migration this week of Canada Warblers with 98 night flight calls for an estimated 73 birds.

Rare or unusual birds this week were 2 Upland Sandpipers at 0013 hours on 13 August, 1 Dickcissel at 0327 hours on 13 August, and 1 Indigo Bunting at 2202 hours on 11 August.

Totals for the week are presented in the table below.

    Estimated
Species Calls Birds
warbler sp. 218 170
American Redstart 252 168
Yellow Warbler 227 141
Chestnut-sided Warbler 210 134
Magnolia Warbler 185 121
Black-and-White Warbler 117 88
Canada Warbler 98 73
Blackburnian Warbler 50 32
Northern Waterthrush 35 29
Blackpoll Warbler 35 28
Ovenbird 32 27
Northern Parula 26 22
Black-throated Green Warbler 27 20
Semipalmated Plover 45 16
Sanderling 29 10
Ruddy Turnstone 40 9
Bay-breasted Warbler 11 8
Red-breasted Nuthatch 24 8
Song Sparrow 19 8
Yellow-rumped Warbler 9 8
Common Yellowthroat 8 6
Nashville Warbler 8 5
Spotted Sandpiper 18 4
passerine sp. 4 4
Black-throated Blue Warbler 3 3
Savannah Sparrow 3 3
House Finch 5 2
Solitary Sandpiper 3 2
Upland Sandpiper 2 2
Alder Flycatcher 2 1
Cape May Warbler 1 1
Dickcissel 1 1
Hermit Thrush 1 1
Indigo Bunting 1 1
Least Sandpiper 1 1
Prairie Warbler 1 1
Short-billed Dowitcher 5 1
Swainson’s Thrush 1 1
Tennessee Warbler 1 1
White-throated Sparrow 1 1
Total 1,759 1,162

1st Week of August

A new nocturnal acoustic recording station was established at Beaver River, Yarmouth County. The station deploys a 21c microphone produced by Bill Evans of Old Bird Inc. This microphone has a greater sensitivity and reach than the NFC microphone by Wildlife Acoustics that was used at Cape Forchu, Yarmouth County, last year. The 21c can detect flight calls up to 300 meters in altitude and can be expected to detect 1.5-2.0 times the number of calls than the Wildlife Acoustics microphone.

The number of estimated birds recorded on the nights beginning on 5-7 August are listed by species below.

Estimated        
Birds Species      
91 American Redstart  
89 Yellow Warbler    
47 Magnolia Warbler  
41 Black-and-White Warbler  
38 Canada Warbler    
15 Chestnut-sided Warbler  
15 Blackburnian Warbler  
15 Spotted Sandpiper  
6 Ovenbird    
6 Northern Waterthrush  
5 Northern Parula    
4 Bay-breasted Warbler  
4 Blackpoll Warbler  
2 Nashville Warbler  
1 Savannah Sparrow  
1 White-throated Sparrow  
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler  
1 Black-throated Green Warbler
66 warbler sp.    
2 passerine sp.