Fall 2016 – Week 4 Update

September 25 – October 2, 2016

This week we only found 16 birds, retaining the pattern of the past two weeks (Table 1.).  With the remnants of tropical storm Karl moving north coinciding with northern winds, favorable conditions helped move migrating birds through our area later in the week and over the weekend.  Surprisingly our data this week did not follow the pattern forecasted by Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdCast (Table 2.).  We found few birds Monday through Wednesday, and no birds on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday when conditions were expected to be best.  One of the most interesting components of the past week was how many dead and stunned birds we found.  With sixteen birds found total exactly half were dead and half were stunned (Table 3.).  This ratio is rather uncommon compared to the previous three weeks data (Table 4.).

Table 1.) Total species found between 9/25/2016-10/02/2016

Species	Number of Birds Found
American redstart	2
Blackpoll warbler	3
Cape may warbler	1
Gray catbird	1
Hooded warbler	1
Magnolia warbler	2
Mourning dove	1
Ovenbird	2
Swainson’s thrush	2
Yellow-bellied sapsucker	1
Grand total	16

Table 2.) Total birds found on each day between 9/25/2016-10/02/2016

Date	Number of Birds Found
9/25/2016	3
9/27/2016	2
9/28/2016	4
10/02/2016	7
Grand total	16

Table 3.) Number of dead versus stunned birds found on each route between 9/25/2016-10/02/2016

Route	Dead Birds	Stunned Birds	Total
1	1	0	1
5	3	0	3
7	4	4	8
8	0	1	1
9	0	1	1
10	0	1	1
Other	0	1	1
Grand total	8	8	16

Table 4. Number of birds found dead vs stunned during each week of the first month of the fall 2016 monitoring season.

The first part of this week has favorable conditions for increased migration.  For the remainder of the week moderate to heavy flights are expected as hurricane Matthew moves northward along the eastern coast.  As the forecast takes Matthew out to sea we should keep a watch on it because if the storm changes direction it could mean changes in migration patterns, and in a matter of hours alter the migration paths of birds.

Keep an eye on our website and our Facebook page for continued updates throughout the fall season.  For information on how to get involved or volunteer, email birdsafepgh@gmail.com for more info.  Make sure to follow us on Instagram (@birdsafepgh) and Twitter (@birdsafePGH) as well!

Dead birds are taken to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and become specimens in the Section of Birds.

Live birds are transported to the Animal Rescue League’s Wildlife Center for rehabilitation and release.