D'oh!  Ned's correct.  I misread the calendar.  The month columns didn't line up with the occurrence columns, so when I looked directly under the May column there was nothing there so I interpreted that as absence.

 

One of the things that Ned correctly points out is that you should expect to find a White-crowned Sparrow in early May in decent habitat (as in one or two birds in a handful of locations--if I understand correctly), but I think what folks are noticing is that they're showing up across the state with a little more frequency than you might expect so that instead of just finding one or two in the right kinds of habitats they're also showing up in backyard feeders and places you might not expect them at this time of year.

 

Based on reports from across the state, and looking at some data from Black Swamp Bird Observatory we can get an idea of what might be happening with White-crowned Sparrows right now across the state.  BSBO typically posts occurrence dates when they first see a species in their nets, and when they last see a species in their nets.  Additionally, they post peak capture dates & #'s.  The peak migration date from BSBO could be interpreted as when a species is most congregated along the lakefront, and therefore more likely to be caught in nets.  Here is some information thus far:

 

Species	 First /Last capture	 Peak capture [date (max #)]	 Total	

White-crowned sparrow (2006)	 5/1/2006	 5/2 (7)	 13	

White-crowned sparrow (2005)	 4/27-5/30	 5/7 (21)	 83	

White-crowned sparrow (2004)	 4/29-5/22	 5/6 (18)	 69	

White-crowned sparrow (2003)	 4/28 – 5/23	 5/16 (9)	 43	

White-crowned sparrow (2002)	 4/24 – 5/23	 5/6 (9)	 49	

White-crowned sparrow (2001)	 5/1 – 5/17	 5/10 (10)	 58	

 

So their first encounter with White-crowned Sparrow this year was May 1st, as in 2001, and so far their max capture has been 7 birds on May 2nd, and they've only caught 13 total thus far (this information was updated yesterday).  Note that in 2001 the duration of White-crowned migration through the lakefront was pretty much concentrated into a 16 day period, but from 2002-2005 White-crowned migration occurred over the course of roughly a month.  It will be interesting to see how this year compares, and whether that peak date & number changes.

 

You can see that the first encounter this year is lagging behind the past few years by anywhere from 3 days to as many as 8 days, but is dead-on for 2001.

 

It would be interesting to see what other banders are seeing in their nets across the state right now, and then compare that to the reports of birders.

 

Thanks again & happy birdwatching!

 

Casey

 

 

 



	-----Original Message----- 

	From: MU Ornithology Listserv (ZOO 408) on behalf of Ned Keller 

	Sent: Fri 5/5/2006 9:30 PM 

	To: [log in to unmask] 

	Cc: 

	Subject: Re: White-crowned Sparrows (cont.)...

	

	



	I compiled the database on cincinnatibirds

	(http://cincinnatibirds.com/database/index.php) from a number of sources

	for Cincinnati area birds: nearly all my records, large numbers of

	records from several other Cincinnati birders, nearly all the reports to

	the old Cincinnati tape, and nearly all the reports on the

	cincinnatibirds sightings log and the ohiobirds listserv. It has some

	definite biases. In particular, it tends to overrepresent rarities,

	because they get reported more often.

	

	As Casey correctly points out, it will give you an overall impression of

	what is present when, but it is not at all suited to any kind of

	statistical analysis. On the other hand, it will give you a much better

	impression than your memory, and even a much better representation than

	your own records, simply because it draws on the experience of a number

	of quality birders.

	

	As for White-crowned Sparrows, Casey misread the checklist on the

	cincinnatibirds site (http://cincinnatibirds.com/birdlist/list.php). It

	shows CCCC for April, and BBCE for May (see

	http://cincinnatibirds.com/birdlist/codes.php for an explanation of the

	codes). David Styer and I prepared the checklist several years ago. It's

	certainly not perfect, but I think it gives a fairly good representation

	of what to expect in the Cincinnati area.

	

	Personally, I would be very surprised to spend an early May morning in

	decent habitat without finding White-crowns.

	

	--

	Ned Keller

	[log in to unmask]