Such movements of robins and varied thrushes are reported in Birds of
Oregon for fall movements in the mountains. I don't know about spring
though or at lower elevations in the valleys. Bob O'Brien
On Sunday, March 8, 2020, Randy <
re_hill at q.com> wrote:
>
Fall migrant raptor migration viewing sites in E Clark County WA typically
>
have weather and/or calendar-induced numbers of both robins and thrushes.
>
Not real high above the landscape but in the 2000' elevation zone. These
>
can last 2-3 hours some mornings. Don't know that this happens in the
>
spring as Varied Thrushes can be altitudinal as well as north-south
>
migrants. Maybe we refer again to Jim D. who spends more time up there.
>
>
>
>
Randy Hill
>
>
Ridgefield
>
>
>
>
*From:* Tweeters [mailto:tweeters-bounces at mailman11.u.washington.edu] *On
>
Behalf Of *Robert O'Brien
>
*Sent:* Saturday, March 7, 2020 10:32 PM
>
*To:* Dennis Paulson
>
*Cc:* Andy Stepniewski; TWEETERS tweeters; B Boekelheide
>
*Subject:* Re: [Tweeters] Bird Migration on Radar
>
>
>
>
Right, that is what I observed regularly every winter in California as a
>
kid, as I mentioned. But I've lived at this s.e. portland rural location
>
for 45 years and never seen that phenomenon. Instead groups of Robin's
>
appear this time of year seemingly out of nowhere. So I'm just taking up on
>
the previous suggestion that they could be night migrants here. Is anyone
>
in Washington or Oregon seeing flocks of day flying robins at several
>
hundred feet altitude? And the same comments could be applied to varied
>
thrush as well. In California Robins were common, regular, high flying
>
>
migrants every winter during the day but varied thrushes joined them only
>
in occasional Winters and were fewer in number than the Robins. The latter
>
ties in with my experience here where the varied thrush abundance varies
>
widely from year to year but still I've never seen any flying at altitude
>
at any time. Bob
>
>
On Saturday, March 7, 2020, Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson at comcast.net>
>
wrote:
>
>
Bob, that's another good candidate for early migration (our territorial
>
male appeared in our yard January 30), but I believe that robins migrate
>
primarily during the day.
>
>
>
>
Dennis
>
>
>
>
On Mar 6, 2020, at 9:48 PM, B Boekelheide <bboek at olympus.net> wrote:
>
>
>
>
Hello, Tweeters, et al,
>
>
>
>
What about robins? Even though many robins stay in WA through the winter,
>
many more begin to pass through around this time, particularly
>
brightly-colored males on their way north that probably spent the winter in
>
CA and OR. The early bird catches the territory, you know. On the
>
Wednesday morning bird walks in RR Bridge Park near Sequim, there is a
>
distinct increase in robins in late winter, like in February and March. In
>
the last week around here we have noticed more robins on territories and
>
more robins singing in the morning.
>
>
>
>
And we all know there are a lot of robins out there.
>
>
>
>
Just a guess.
>
>
>
>
Bob Boekelheide
>
>
Dungeness
>
>
>
>
*Subject: Bird Migration on Radar*
>
Date: Fri Mar 6 2020 18:05 pm
>
From: jdanzenbaker AT gmail.com
>
>
>
>
Hi Tweeters and Dennis,
>
>
I'm just reading this thread with interest. To answer the question from
>
>
Dennis, nope, didn't notice any appreciable increase in any species or
>
>
family of birds down here in Clark County yesterday. However, three other
>
>
Clark County birders and I were birding in Skamania County all day! This
>
>
morning, I visited the Vancouver Lowlands and witnessed about 15,000 geese
>
>
(Snow and Cackling) feeding in the corn fields. However, these are
>
>
(probably) birds that winter here so they wouldn't have triggered a
>
>
migration alert since I think most only commute between Suave Island,
>
>
Oregon and the Vancouver lowlands - about 3 miles as the goose flies.
>
>
There were also about 600 Sandhill Cranes but they are diurnal fliers. The
>
>
number of cranes may have increased in the last several days - but maybe
>
>
not since I'm not there every day to count them. Also, as Dennis stated,
>
>
most (if not all) goose and crane commute time is during daylight hours.
>
>
True goose migration is nocturnal. I don't think there was any nocturnal
>
>
goose migration going on since there were no reports on OBOL of goose
>
>
flocks heard overhead at night. Good numbers of swallows started arriving
>
>
several weeks ago but its impossible to know what the daily turnover is
>
>
with Tree and Violet-green Swallows.
>
>
>
>
Seems like there was an uptick in sparrows this morning - Savannah Sparrows
>
>
have arrived and blackbird flocks were more numerous. However, blackbirds
>
>
have nocturnal roosts even during migration - I think.
>
>
>
>
Keep your eyes and ears skyward and on those migration computer screens!
>
>
>
>
Jim
>
>
Battle Ground, WA
>
>
>
> Hi Andy and tweeters,
>
>
> Very interesting to read Cliff Mass�s blog. But I expressed puzzlement a
>
>
> while back when a spectacular radar signal was shown in the Florida Keys in
>
>
> late February that people attributed to bird migration. When I lived in
>
>
> Miami for 15 years, the only incoming migrants in late February were Purple
>
>
> Martins and Swallow-tailed Kites, both of which are diurnal migrants and in
>
>
> any case wouldn�t give a radar signal like that.
>
>
> I�ll ask the same question here. The only migrants that normally come into
>
>
> this area in early March are swallows and a few Rufous Hummingbirds, which
>
>
> are diurnal migrants. I would expect no movements other than that. Thus I�m
>
>
> still not entirely convinced, unless someone can point out something I have
>
>
> missed. Possibly waterfowl? But of course they also do a lot of their
>
>
> migration in the daytime and would not start at dusk and stop at dawn.
>
>
>
> Jim Danzenbaker, you�re looking at the sky. Any massive arrivals in your
>
>
> area yesterday?
>
>
> And what could it be if not birds?
>
>
>
> Dennis Paulson
>
>
> Seattle
>
>
>
>
> Date: Fri, 6 Mar 2020 08:13:19 -0800
>
>
> From: "Andy Stepniewski"
>
>
> To: "TWEETERS"
>
>
>
>
>
> Tweeters,
>
>
> Cliff Mass in his 6 March 2020 weather blog documents substantial numbers
>
>
> of birds migrating north from Portland OR on Wednesday night (4 March).
>
>
> Further, he explains the weather pattern that night was conducive for
>
>
> migration, giving the ?birdies? as he calls them, a tailwind.
>
>
>
> See ?Weather Radar Shows Spring Bird Migration:?
>
>
> *https://cliffmass.blogspot.com...* <https://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2020/03/weather-radar-shows-spring-bird.html>
>
>
>
> Pretty cool stuff!
>
>
>
> Andy Stepniewski
>
>
> Yakima WA
>
>
> steppie at nwinfo.net
>
>
>
>
>
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