“Waves” of warblers and other Neotropical songbirds continue to roll along the ridgetops of southern Pennsylvania. The majority of these migrants are headed to wintering habitat in the tropics after departing breeding grounds in the forests of southern Canada. At Second Mountain Hawk Watch, today’s early morning flight kicked off at sunrise, then slowed considerably by 8:30 A.M. E.D.T. Once again, in excess of 400 warblers were found moving through the trees and working their way southwest along the spine of the ridge. Each of the 12 species seen yesterday were observed today as well. In addition, there was a Northern Parula and a Canada Warbler. Today’s flight was dominated by Bay-breasted, Blackburnian, Black-throated Green, and Tennessee Warblers.
A Blackburnian Warbler at sunrise on Second Mountain.A hungry Blackburnian Warbler feeding on insects.Black-throated Green Warblers were a plentiful species among both yesterday’s and today’s waves of Neotropical migrants.A juvenile Black-throated Green Warbler.One of the scores of Tennessee Warblers seen on Second Mountain early this morning.Cape May Warblers were still common today, but not moving through in the numbers seen yesterday.A male Black-throated Blue Warbler.Compared to yesterday’s flight, lesser numbers of Magnolia Warblers were seen today.An adult male Wilson’s Warbler was a good find among the hundreds of birds swarming the ridgetop.This Nashville Warbler spent much of the day in the tangles of Mile-a-minute Weed surrounding the lookout.
Other interesting Neotropical migrants joined the “waves” of warblers…
Red-eyed Vireo numbers were higher than yesterday.This Warbling Vireo was found peering from the cover of the shady forest.A minimum of six Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were identified including the juvenile male seen here in first-fall plumage. Other good sightings were Scarlet Tanagers, an adult male Baltimore Oriole, and a dozen or more Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.Three Least Flycatchers were heard calling and seen chasing one another through a stand of dead timber on the south slope below the lookout.After the warbler flight settled, the task of counting migrating raptors commenced. Five Broad-winged Hawks including this one were tallied as they glided away to the southwest for a winter vacation in the tropics of Central and South America.
During the recent couple of mornings, a tide of Neotropical migrants has been rolling along the crests of the Appalachian ridges and Piedmont highlands of southern Pennsylvania. In the first hours of daylight, “waves” of warblers, vireos, flycatchers, tanagers, and other birds are being observed flitting among the sun-drenched foliage as they feed in trees along the edges of ridgetop clearings. Big fallouts have been reported along Kittattiny Ridge/Blue Mountain at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and at Waggoner’s Gap Hawk Watch. Birds are also being seen in the Furnace Hills of the Piedmont.
Here are some of the 300 to 400 warblers (a very conservative estimate) seen in a “wave” found working its way southwest through the forest clearing at the Second Mountain Hawk Watch in Lebanon County this morning. The feeding frenzy endured for two hours between 7 and 9 A.M. E.D.T.
Tennessee Warblers (Leiothlypis peregrina) were very common among the migrants seen this morning on Second Mountain.An adult male Tennessee Warbler.A Nashville Warbler.A Chestnut-sided Warbler.Cape May Warblers were another common species during the morning flight.Magnolia Warblers were frequently observed as well.A Black-and-white Warbler exhibiting its nuthatch-like feeding behavior.A Blackburnian Warbler.Black-throated Green Warblers were numerous.A Bay-breasted Warbler.This was the only Wilson’s Warbler discerned among the hundreds of warblers seen in a “wave” on Second Mountain this morning.
Not photographed but observed in the mix of species were several Black-throated Blue Warblers and American Redstarts.
In addition to the warblers, other Neotropical migrants were on the move including two Common Nighthawks, a Broad-winged Hawk, a Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus), and…
At least half a dozen Scarlet Tanagers were in the treetops.And no less than 23 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds were counted cruising southbound past the lookout at Second Mountain Hawk Watch today.
Then, there was a taste of things to come…
One of 3 Red-breasted Nuthatches filling the air on the mountaintop with calls reminiscent of a toy tin horn. Will this summer’s forest fires in Canada prompt a significant invasion of this and other birds including winter finches in coming months? Time will tell.
Seeing a “wave” flight is a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Visiting known locations for observing warbler fallouts such as hawk watches, ridgetop clearings, and peninsular shorelines can improve your chances of witnessing one of these memorable spectacles by overcoming the first variable. To overcome the second, be sure to visit early and often. See you on the lookout!
Neotropical birds are presently migrating south from breeding habitats in the United States and Canada to wintering grounds in Central and South America. Among them are more than two dozen species of warblers—colorful little passerines that can often be seen darting from branch to branch in the treetops as they feed on insects during stopovers in the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.
Being nocturnal migrants, warblers are best seen first thing in the morning among sunlit foliage, often high in the forest canopy. After a night of flying, they stop to feed and rest. Warblers frequently join resident chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches to form a foraging flock that can contain dozens of songbirds. Migratory flycatchers, vireos, tanagers, and grosbeaks often accompany southbound warblers during early morning “fallouts”. Usually, the best way to find these early fall migrants is to visit a forest edge or thicket, particularly along a stream, a utility right-of-way, or on a ridge top. Then too, warblers and other Neotropical migrants are notorious for showing up in groves of mature trees in urban parks and residential neighborhoods—so look up!
A Black-and-white Warbler descends into the tangles of the forest understory to search for a morning meal of insects or creepy-crawlies.Success! Looks like a cranefly (Tipulidae).A Black-throated Green Warbler high in the treetops.Warblers often travel and feed in the company of other Neotropical species like this Red-eyed Vireo.Get out and look for those Neotropical migrants now because, like this Canada Warbler, in just a few weeks they’ll be gone.
Be sure to visit the Birds of Conewago Falls page by clicking the “Birds” tab at the top of this page. There, you’ll find photographs of the birds, including warblers and other Neotropical migrants, that you’re likely to encounter at locations throughout the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed.
If it can fly, there’s a pretty good chance it was at Second Mountain today.
What follows is a photographic chronology of some of today’s sightings at Second Mountain Hawk Watch at Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. We begin with some of the hundreds of migratory songbirds found at the base of the mountain along Cold Spring Road near Indiantown Run during the early morning, then we continue to the lookout for the balance of the day.
A Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) searching the trunk of a tree for insects.A Rose-breasted Grosbeak.A Blackburnian Warbler high in the forest canopy.A Black-throated Green Warbler bouncing from branch to branch as it feeds.A Chestnut-sided Warbler lurks among the foliage.A Magnolia Warbler.One of a hundred or more Red-eyed Vireos found swarming the treetops, and occasionally the understory, while engaging in a wild feeding frenzy.A male American Redstart. Judging by that gray hood, it’s probably experiencing its second fall migration.Eyes were skyward at the Second Mountain Hawk Watch lookout as Broad-winged Hawks began streaming through during the mid-morning.During the morning flight, Broad-winged Hawks including this adult floated by the lookout riding updrafts created by the south wind striking the face of the mountain ridge.As the overcast became more scattered and more sunlight reached the ground, Broad-winged Hawks began riding thermal currents to gain altitude before gliding off to the southwest in continuance of their long trip to the tropics. At times, birds would disappear into the base of the clouds before ending their climb and sailing away.Broad-winged Hawks rely principally upon amphibians and large insects like this bush katydid (Scudderia species) for sustenance. With freezing temperatures just around the corner, “broad-wings” must make their way to warmer climes early or risk starvation.A Bald Eagle always gets observers looking.A juvenile Broad-winged Hawk.A juvenile Cooper’s Hawk.A Broad-winged Hawk has a look around.One never quite knows what one may see when having a look around.A Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina) in the lookout hemlock.A Black Saddlebags, one of several migratory dragonflies seen today.An Osprey glides through in the afternoon glare.A speedy Merlin thrilled observers with a close approach.One must remember that Fort Indiantown Gap is an active military installation, so from time to time training and drilling exercises may interrupt bird observation activities at the Second Mountain Hawk Watch.Today, speedy A-10 Warthog attack aircraft piloted by members of the Maryland Air National Guard based at Glenn Martin Field thrilled observers on the lookout with several close passes during their training runs.And repeat.Drill complete.
The total number of Broad-winged Hawks observed migrating past the Second Mountain lookout today was 619. To see the daily raptor counts for Second Mountain and other hawk watches in North America, and to learn more about each site, be sure to visit hawkcount.org
Okay, so it happened to be cloudy with drizzle at sunrise—not the best conditions for observing birds in the treetops. But that inclement weather effectively grounded the overnight flight of migrating songbirds leading to a really big fallout in the lower Susquehanna valley this morning.
While straining one’s neck to gaze up into the forest canopy, hundreds of migrants including warblers, vireos, tanagers, thrushes, and flycatchers could be seen. Identifying each was impossible.
Here are of few of this morning’s arrivals. Manually setting the camera to a slower shutter speed compensated a little bit for the backlighting caused by cloudy conditions.
Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus).Bay-breasted Warbler.Black-throated Green Warbler.Nashville Warbler (Leiothlypis ruficapilla).Northern Parula (Setophaga americana).
Peak numbers of Broad-winged Hawks will pass through the area during the coming two weeks. They most often migrate in groups, with sizes ranging from several individuals to hundreds or even thousands of birds. Despite this being a less than ideal day for riding thermals and gliding off towards the southwest to continue their journey to the tropics, some “broad-wings” ventured aloft and were on their way soon after the drizzle subsided during mid-morning.
A Broad-winged Hawk lifts off from the cover of the forest where it spent the night.The same Broad-winged Hawk (bottom) and an adult Bald Eagle gain altitude on a thermal updraft before the former glides away toward the southwest.
A few nocturnal migrants flew through the moonlit night to arrive at Conewago Falls for a sunrise showing this morning. A dozen warblers were in the treetops and a Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) chattered away in the understory of the Riparian Woodlands. Three species of shorebirds were in the falls and on the Pothole Rocks: Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla), Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes), and Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca).
A Greater Yellowlegs (right) and two Lesser Yellowlegs sandpipers dropped by for breakfast.
The diurnal migration was highlighted by a Merlin (Falco columbarius), an Osprey, and a Bald Eagle, each flying down the river. Most of the other birds in the falls seemed content to linger and feed. There’s no need to hurry folks, only trouble lurks down there in paradise at the moment.
A light to moderate flight of nocturnal migrants in the eastern United States is displayed on NOAA National Weather Service NEXRAD radar at 4:58 AM EDT. The eye of Hurricane Irma can be seen approaching the Florida Keys. (NOAA/National Weather Service image)CLICK ON THE LOGO FOR TODAY’S MIGRATION COUNT TOTALS
Rain from the remnants of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey ended just after daybreak this morning. Locally, the precipitation was mostly absorbed into the soil. There was little runoff and no flooding. The river level at Conewago Falls is presently as low as it has been all summer. Among the pools and rapids of the Pothole Rocks, numbers of migrating birds are building.
Mist and a low cloud ceiling created poor visibility while trying to see early morning birds, but they’re here. The warblers are moving south and a small wave of them was filtering through the foliage on the edge of the Riparian Woodlands. One must bend backwards to have a look, and most could not be identified due to the poor lighting in the crowns of the trees where they were zipping about. Five species of warblers and two species of vireos were discerned.
There are increasing concentrations of swallows feeding on insects over the falls. Hundreds were here today, mostly Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). Bank Swallows (Stelgidopteryx riparia) numbered in the hundreds, far below the thousands, often 10,000, which staged here for migration and peaked during the first week of September annually during the 1980s and 1990s. Their numbers have been falling steadily. Loss of nesting locations in embankments near water may be impacting the entire population. A reduction in the abundance of late-summer flying insects here on the lower Susquehanna River may be cause for them to abandon this area as a migration staging point.
Bank and Tree Swallows by the hundreds were feeding upon flying insects above the waters of Conewago Falls today. Lesser numbers of Northern Rough-winged Swallows (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) and Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) joined the swarm.
Clear weather in the coming nights and days may get the migrants up and flying in large numbers. For those species headed to the tropics for winter, the time to get moving has arrived.
CLICK ON THE LOGO FOR TODAY’S MIGRATION COUNT TOTALS
