Ash-throated Flycatcher
Early this morning Tina Green and AJ Hand reported an Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, Connecticut, the sixth record for the species in the state. I was able to run over and join our friends to watch this awesome, hungry and active bird as it flew from tree to tree while feeding in lovely sunny, calm weather. Here are some record shots… Birds like this come to us via the same mechanism as those Cave Swallows, as so many November rarities do – steady southerly flow pushing birds through the continental U.S. followed by...
Read MoreHummingbird Garden
This November has been a warm one until recently! As mentioned yesterday, the month is typically known for its avian rarities in the Northeast with southerly flow events followed by strong cold fronts, moving those that traveled up on those winds back down to coastal areas especially. Cave Swallows are a featured species in this phenomenon, with some more still being seen around the Great Lakes today and hundreds of others transported back to the New England coast to presumably move south again. Hummingbirds are also being seen more frequently in late autumn and early winter across the...
Read MoreNovember movements and rarities
The atmosphere of the United States can be very chaotic in November with warm air being drawn up ahead of powerful cold fronts and large sections of the country being influenced by the same system. Often times these currents move birds, already in motion during migration, very far from where they are supposed to be. Across the northeastern part of the country it is known as a time to find extreme rarities. Scissor-tailed Flycatchers (Tyrannus forficatus) typically move from the central U.S. to Central America, but once in a while a bird will go the opposite direction and end up far...
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