Rouge River Bird Observatory
Archived bird sightings
1995

2 May 1995
Last Friday, 28 April, saw our first modest push of a variety of migrants in our area. They included:

     Black-and-white Warbler
     Black-throated Green Warbler
     Northern Waterthrush
     Palm Warbler
     Wood Thrush
     Gray Catbird
     Veery
     White-crowned Sparrow
     very large numbers of White-throated Sparrows

The find of the week was a WORM-EATING WARBLER found on 30 April by Curt Powell. I relocated the bird yesterday
and watched it forage for some time with a group of White-throats, but it has not been seen today.

5 May 1995

*   The last couple of days has brought in some new species, although not in great numbers. A HOODED WARBLER
     was found nearby on Greenfield Village property on 2 May; it was seen yesterday as well, but I've not heard a report
     today. Last year we hosted three Hooded Warblers, so expect another report.

*   3 May gave us our first COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, and the first GRAY CATBIRD we netted turned out to
     be one we banded three years ago to the day.

*   Today, we banded two INDIGO BUNTINGS, right on time for this species. Other birds first seen today were
     NASHVILLE WARBLER, BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, LEAST FLYCATCHER (one seen, one banded),
     and ORCHARD ORIOLE. The Orchard Orioles are annual nesters by the Henry Ford Estate.
 

11 May 1995

  • The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD happily feeding in the meadow on 9 May was overshadowed by the spectacular fallout of migrants witnessed on 10 May. We recorded 100 species yesterday, 29 of which were warblers, including BLACKPOLL, BAY-BREASTED, NORTHERN PARULA, GOLDEN-WINGED, PROTHONOTARY, CERULEAN, MOURNING, and LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH. All species were seen in substantial numbers, except for singles of the last four species. Multiple Golden-wings, Parulas, BLACKBURNIANS, BLACK-THROATED BLUES, and CAPE MAYS were a sight to behold. Small groups of SCARLET TANAGERS and scores of ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS were found. Oddball species like early COMMON NIGHTHAWKS, two SOLITARY SANDPIPERS, RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, BOBOLINKS, and the area's first record for MARSH WREN were also found.

    •  
  • Today most of these species are still being seen in slightly reduced numbers. The entire region experienced this fallout, the result of cool spring weather holding back migration, combined with a slow- moving low pressure area and dense fog. As an interesting side note, most of the migrants we are banding have very little fat, so they may be hanging around a few days.

    •  
  • In "old news," on 7 May we had a new area record, a LONG-TAILED JAEGER flying over the meadow. This is the

    •    rarest jaeger in the state, with fewer than 20 records, and exceedingly uncommon in the lower peninsula.
     

    15 May 1995
    Phew! What a week! The echo from the 10 May fallout continued right through the weekend; in fact, I recaught a number of the warblers that were first banded on 10 May. Birds tapered off a little this weekend, but there were increased numbers today. Hightlights include:

    At least one CERULEAN WARBLER continued to be seen from 10 - 14 May; the PROTHONOTARY first seen on 7 May is territorial. GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH arrived today.

    We've now recorded 31 species of warbler this spring; Connecticut still to come, but reliable. We do have records of Prairie and Kentucky, let's keep our fingers crossed. And since we've already got two first-and-only Michigan warbler records (Townsend's and Virginia's), we can always hope for a Swainson's!
     
     


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    Natural Areas Dept., University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI 48128