Have there been any reports from this last weekend yet?
SJR
On Thu, May 13, 2010 at 8:52 PM, Jay K <azure.jay@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Everybody,
It's been a while, but I occasionally follow up on VA-Bird posts through
Siler's website since I moved from VA to CA a couple of years back. I have
been reading the recent posts on trying to find Kirtland's Warblers with
interest, and wanted to comment. This is a bird I attempted to find on
numerous occasions during Spring and Fall migration in Virginia, with no
success. I never did venture to the western part of the state for this
search. I had done some extensive research in the known migration patterns
of the species and came up with some interesting information.
My first realization was that Spring may be the least opportune time to
search for this bird, as, despite the possibility of hearing one being real,
some evidence I have read suggests they may make a nearly non-stop flight to
Michigan in Spring, spurred on by hormones. I suppose searching the morning
after a storm between now and about May 25 might be the most productive. I
believe there is some precedent for Spring birds being found in Virginia, if
I recall correctly.
In Fall, migrants of course are not in as much of a hurry, so the chances
seem to grow, and they may take less direct routes back to the Bahamas. I
have always been intrigued by the below-linked account of a bird caught
multiple times at Powdermill in southwest PA over an 11 day period, which
always seemed to return to an overgrown hawthorn/crabapple thicket. This
suggests an affinity for that particular habitat, so searching those areas in
perhaps any part of the state during Fall migration might be most productive,
especially during the wind conditions described in the article.
http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Wilson/v085n04/p0417-p0428.pdf
Take care, and I look forward to visiting the area again soon.
Jay Keller,
San Diego, CA
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