[Birdtalk] update on nocturnal migrants

[Colby Neuman]

Hi all,

I have listened several times for nocturnal migrants over the past 2
weeks or so.  Unfortunately, I have not had a great deal of success.
I've listened from the top of the Suncrest subdivision (Salt Lake/Utah
County border) several times.  A couple of unidentified ducks, 1
probable sterna tern, 1 sparrow type, and a couple no ideas were all I
had down there in 5+ hours of listening over the course of 3 nights in
mid to late April.  There was a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL that called from
the Utah Co. side of the subdivision almost continuously every night I
was down there.

Late last week, I went up and listened from Ensign Peak for about 45
minutes.  I had one 'good' YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER fly over.  Otherwise,
things were very quiet.

Finally last night, I stopped being a lazy bum, and I biked up to the
radio towers (~20 minute bike road to the lowest tower) between the
Avenues and Bountiful.  I listened from about 11:40pm-12:40am.  While
I was going up, I had a sparrow fly over so I was hopeful that things
were going to be more active than previous nights had been.
Unfortunately, it wasn't much more active, and the strong southerly
winds along the ridge line made things difficult to hear.  I had 3
unidentified sparrow (1 of which I thought was likely a Brewers?) and
1 'good' CHIPPING SPARROW flyover in the hour spent listening.  A
WESTERN MEADOWLARK randomly sang once from the valley below at around
midnight.  Also, multiple COMMON POORWILLS were heard singing on the
way up to the ridge line (in the general vicinity of Ensign Peak).
These were not heard last week so they likely arrived this past
weekend.

As always, let me know if you would like to come along one evening.
I'm really hoping that with buntings, grosbeaks, orioles, warblers,
thrushes, etc. moving through over the next couple weeks that we will
get some larger flights of neotropical migrants...and hopefully some
big enough to hear a fair number of birds.

Colby