Beaver River, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia – Autumn 2018

Weekly Reports at Beaver River for the Autumn 2018

 

Seasonal Summary

 

2^nd 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

 

1^st 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

 

4^th Week of October

Normally the number of birds in nocturnal migration declines rapidly after October 15^th. 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

2^nd 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

1^st Week of October

Night flight calls increased by 34% over the last week of September. The 1^st 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

4^th 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

3^rd 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

2^nd 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

1^st 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 3^rd 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

4^th 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 3^rd 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

3^rd 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

2^nd 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.