SPRING MIGRATION

Scarlet Tanager

This photo, courtesy Sharon Milligan, was taken on Dauphin Island at the shell mound in April 2008, following similar weather conditions to those described below.  See at the end of the article for details of a field trip to this very place this coming Saturday, April 2nd.

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The days of April are peak days of the spring migration along the Coast. In fair weather, any diligent birder can discover new arrivals to the Coast ... most of these fair weather arrivals are birds whose nesting habitat is right here in Mississippi. We find them today and thereafter, throughout the breeding season .. Parula Warblers, Kingbirds, Prothonotary Warblers, for example.

One would assume that birding in fair weather would offer ideal and leisurely study of the many migrants whose breeding grounds lie much further to the north. If one had the time for day after day observation, it is quite possible that, in ones and twos, we would eventually obtain brief, happy glimpses of a Cerulean Warbler or a Gray-cheeked Thrush, and many others of the better than 330 species of Mississippi birds. (Editor's note - this number in year 2016 is now at 422 species!)

When we consider that the nearest jumping off place is in Yucatan, 560 miles distant … and the assumed rate of land-bird travel is 30 miles per hour … there is a natural assumption that a 19-hour, over-water flight, even under ideal conditions, would result in exhausted birds eager to rest here.

But we fail to properly appreciate the tiny and wondrous warblers, whose average weight in prime condition may total just one ounce, or the delicate buntings whose endurance is a way of life. After advancing 560 miles over water, these and many other species keep right on going. They may rest about 50 miles inland, and resume their urgent flight as soon as darkness falls.

Going afield in fair weather and light southerly winds can be disappointing if one hopes to add a Baltimore Oriole to his or her list.

For it is the average cold front, with wind and rain, which forces the migrants to stop their journey. Caught over the gulf in bad weather, they must continue until they reach land, or perish in the sea. Buffeting winds and drenching rains decrease their speed and deplete their fuel supplies (fat). Upon reaching landfall, they flutter earthward in complete exhaustion.

If they have survived the ordeal in good shape, they may remain with us only until the weather clears. For this reason, the experienced birder will don a sou’wester to “Make hay while the rain falls!”

For birds who have barely escaped from harm’s way, their physical condition is poor. They will linger in fair weather to rest and replenish their reserves of fat.

Out of these beastly weather conditions can come a birder’s delight, but our gain in such cases is definitely their loss. Looking back to the second week of April, 1975, you may recall that weedy fields hosted flocks of Indigo Buntings and Blue Grosbeaks or that your feeding station suddenly became reactivated by blue clad sprites.

Baltimore Orioles and Painted Buntings clung to roadside brush like a profusion of blossoms, and high in the budding trees, one could clearly see the Scarlet and Summer Tanagers in brilliant reds and yellows. Diminutive warblers and vireos adorned the greenery … here a Blackburnian and there a Redstart … and in the fields, traditionally tree-top birds sought strength to fly again.

Large numbers of these colorful species lingered here on the Coast, but these displays are the result of bad weather. Untold numbers of migrants fell into the sea, or died of exhaustion after reaching land.

Remember that birding in light rain or after a cold front, can afford the watcher far greater numbers and species of brightly plumaged birds, at close range, than you would ever see in good weather.

Where to go? Under the conditions described above,  great birding is possible all along the Mississippi Coast… I would again recommend Buccaneer State Park, Belle Fontaine Beach, Magnolia State Park (now called Gulf Islands National Seashore) for the best concentrations, or find yourself a small green island right in your own neighborhood. (Editor's note: For current areas of birding interest, do refer to the Pascagoula River Audubon Society on-line birding Map)

As a loyal Coastian, I offer the following suggestions with chagrin ... the fact is that Dauphin Island, Alabama, and Cameron Parish in Louisiana, are ideally located meccas for the birder.

Editor’s note: This article was published in April 1977. Interestingly, the weather conditions Judy describes here may well apply to this weekend. And, coincidentally, this Saturday (April 2^nd, 2016) Mississippi Coast Audubon Society hosts a field trip on DAUPHIN ISLAND, led by veteran birder, and island resident, Don McKee. Meet at Cadillac Square, 661 Bienville Blvd, Dauphin Island, Alabama between 7:30 and 8:00 am.