I had a great couple of hours at the UI Arboretum this morning (complete eBird list below). Lots of birds moving through with activity increasing as the morning progressed (presumably arriving migrants, some of which may continue moving for some time after dawn under good flight conditions). With so much going on I'm sure I missed more than a few birds and a good number of empidonax flycatchers went unidentified (although Hammond's seemed to be the dominant species). Also a good number of pewees and at least 2 Olive-sided Flycatchers were present. The highlight was probably a Gray Catbird which although a fairly common breeder nearby seems to be quite uncommon in migration. I think this is my first record for Moscow proper.
I checked the Spokane radar loop last evening using http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/radar/ and it appeared to be showing a good flight early in the evening. I've been interested in Colby Neuman's nocturnal migration monitoring and he's given me some help on reading the radar loops for migrating birds. Cool stuff.
thanks, Charles.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Location: Moscow - UI Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
Observation date: 8/30/09
Notes: Great morning at Arboretum a day and half after a cold front. Started out slowly but birds arriving migrants moved in as it warmed up. Lots of squabbling and chasing was observed. A large flock of Cedar Waxwings was spread out and actively feeding. A good # of empids went unidentified although Hammond's seemed the dominant species. Warbling Vireos probably underestimated, some in small flocks. Warblers were a bit tricky to pick out of all the other birds presents. The Gray Catbird was probably the best bird - probably my first for Moscow and hard to find as a migrant (which this one presumably was).
Number of species: 35
Mallard 5
California Quail 10
Swainson's Hawk 3
Mourning Dove 10
Northern Flicker 4
Olive-sided Flycatcher 2
Western Wood-Pewee 6
Hammond's Flycatcher 8
Dusky Flycatcher 2
Cassin's Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 12
Common Raven 3
Barn Swallow 4
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
House Wren 1
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 1
European Starling 5
Cedar Waxwing 60
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
Townsend's Warbler 2
MacGillivray's Warbler 2
Wilson's Warbler 5
Western Tanager 8
Chipping Sparrow 10
Song Sparrow 2
Lazuli Bunting 2
House Finch 5
Pine Siskin 8
American Goldfinch 5
Evening Grosbeak 2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
Location: Moscow - UI Arboretum and Botanical Gardens
Observation date: 8/30/09
Notes: Great morning at Arboretum a day and half after a cold front. Started out slowly but birds arriving migrants moved in as it warmed up. Lots of squabbling and chasing was observed. A large flock of Cedar Waxwings was spread out and actively feeding. A good # of empids went unidentified although Hammond's seemed the dominant species. Warbling Vireos probably underestimated, some in small flocks. Warblers were a bit tricky to pick out of all the other birds presents. The Gray Catbird was probably the best bird - probably my first for Moscow and hard to find as a migrant (which this one presumably was).
Number of species: 35
Mallard 5
California Quail 10
Swainson's Hawk 3
Mourning Dove 10
Northern Flicker 4
Olive-sided Flycatcher 2
Western Wood-Pewee 6
Hammond's Flycatcher 8
Dusky Flycatcher 2
Cassin's Vireo 1
Warbling Vireo 12
Common Raven 3
Barn Swallow 4
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch 2
House Wren 1
American Robin 1
Gray Catbird 1
European Starling 5
Cedar Waxwing 60
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
Nashville Warbler 1
Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5
Townsend's Warbler 2
MacGillivray's Warbler 2
Wilson's Warbler 5
Western Tanager 8
Chipping Sparrow 10
Song Sparrow 2
Lazuli Bunting 2
House Finch 5
Pine Siskin 8
American Goldfinch 5
Evening Grosbeak 2
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
--
Charles Swift
Moscow, ID
chaetura@gmail.com
