Beechwood: Sparrows, Siskins, Sedge Wren

Over the last two days, an excellent movement of songbirds has finally erupted across Muskegon County. The first big wave of neotropical migrants has quickly brought lots of warblers, flycatchers, and other fresh arrivals. At the same time, nearctic migrants are peaking.

To clarify terms, neotropical migrants are those species that primarily winter in Central and South America, whereas nearctic migrants generally do not continue outside the contintental U.S. From an ecological and conservation standpoint, the distinctions are important. Neotropical migrants tend to migrate faster and for longer distances, pass later in the spring (rarely appearing before leaves emerge), migrate chiefly at night, avoid tight flocks, primarily consume arthropods, and are more likely to forage in tree canopies. Nearctic, or temperate zone, migrants flock regularly, readily consume seeds and berries, favor shrubby or less woody settings, migrate by day or night, start moving with the spring thaw, and have a longer passage window overall.

While cold-hardy winter residents (e.g. Tree Sparrows and Juncos) have already departed, nearctic transients (those that do not normally winter or breed here) pass just prior to the massive waves of neotropical migrants. In almost all cases, males precede females. Male Ruby-crowned Kinglets peaked last week, and now the flocks are dominated by females. White-throated Sparrows (top photo) are presently abundant, and today at Beechwood Park, I carefully counted 317 (!) individuals over a six-minute span as they hopped, flitted, and flew across the north sled run. Lincoln's Sparrows (two photos above) and White-crowned Sparrows are just appearing in earnest. Male Lincoln's Sparrow often sing a slightly muted version of their song (which somewhat resembles a House Wren's), and this can make them a little easier to detect. My spring sightings in Muskegon County range from April 20 to May 18, with a mean of May 8. In the fall, I have banded them from September 4 to October 13, with an average passage date of September 27. First-year birds and older birds peak roughly simultaneously. The species frequents brushy edges, often with White-crowned Sparrows, but like the closely related Swamp Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrows tend to be less social than other sparrows, although this can also be attributed to its general scarcity.

Also at Beechwood today, I tallied 595 northbound Pine Siskins during my 2.5 hour birding jaunt and stationary count. Most of those birds passed during one hour, and at one point 130 passed in a single minute (9:53am). Local densities this past winter had been light (one of my banded birds is photographed above), and the species has been trickling north for the last couple weeks, so today's flight was outstanding. My previous big count was 289 at Kruse Park on May 15, 2013.

Another highlight from Beechwood was a Sedge Wren. Certainly a migrant, being obviously removed from its preferred habitat, the bird was foraging very furtively thru dune grass in a mouse-like fashion. The record also ties my earliest for Muskegon County. Unfortunately, local populations have declined over the last decade, so breeding birds can also be somewhat difficult to find.

- Brian Johnson