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Home , Hurricane Danny (1985), Hurricane Henri, Siberian Express

CONTINENTAL ANALYSIS

THE CHANGING

...a hurricanefall

Paul A. DeBenedictis

he Fall 1985migration was marked by an unusually largenumber of AtlanticOcean hurricanes, gener- ally mild otherwise, widespread irruptive speciesand a fine assortmentof vagrant birds. This sum- mary, hampered by the lack of three regional reports, reflectsyet another novelty for me. This is the first I have had both a computer and a data managementpro- gram of sufficient capacity to automate the processingof most recordsthat appear in this issue. In processingthem I learned several lessonsthat may be useful to other bird- ers. Let us begin by examining the events of the season and end with comments on automated processingof arian records.

Hurricanes

No fewer than seven hurricanes made on the North American mainland this fall, more than twice aver- age. The Gulf Coast of the United States was especially hard hit, but much of the Eastern Seaboard also was affected.A good overview of the relationshipbetween hur- ricanes and birds in North America appears in the South- •4Augõ " o ern Atlantic Coast Region, so I won't repeat it here. Af*er we review each of these hurricanes, there is another poiat that can be added to this summary. I tried to associatebird records with a particular hurri- cane'spassage by selecting those reports from the entire data set that were inside a rectangular area extending 10ø north and east and 5 ø south and west from the 's cen- ter, on the same day. These boundaries were chosen to Figure 1. Hurricane Danny with stormposition at 7 a.m. on date reflect the usual prevalence of arian records north and shown. Stippling density indicatesintensity of storm. west of a storm's center. Further, this area is large enoup• to include birds at the storm's periphery, and also gives good day-to-day overlap in coverage.To check for laggard records,I then added all reports from within a squarearea Most birds associated with Danny were in the Central 20ø on a side, centered on the hurricane's last position and Southern Region, but records were scatteredas far north made during the week following dissipation of that storm. as the Appalachian and Middle Atlantic Coast regions. Almost all bird reports from the last two or three days of birders found a Masked Booby, and a Curlew that period provided unlikely associatesof the hurricane. Sandpiper, and over 2000 Stilt Sandpipers were grounded Moreover, caution should be exercised when associating by the storm'srain shield. Louisianaproduced a Magnifi- records and observations with a given. storm. Birds are cent Frigatebird, Reddish Egrets, and many shorebirds excellent navigators and have been observed flying including Ruddy Turnstones,appeared at unusual inland throup• or into weather severeenoup• to ground small air- sites. From came records of Wilson's Storm- craft. Althoup• hurricanes have sufficient strength to carry Petrels, Magnificent Frigatebirds, Sooty Terns, and a birds far from their usual paths, it is likely that many birds Brown Noddy. Eastern Tennesseeproduced a Least Tern associated with the passageof these would have and Arkansas had a Roseate Spoonbill and an unusual passed throup• unseen had the weather been less severe. concentrationof Black-crownedNight-Herons at this time. Hurricane Danny entered the scene August 13, from the Danny's shield over western grounded a Yucatan Channel (Fig. 1). At 7 A.M. on the 14th, its center Laughing Gull and mauy shorebirds,including Hudsonian was 200 miles south of , in the open Gulf of Godwits, Ruddy Turnstones,Red Knots, and Buff-breasted . It made landfall in south-central on the Sandpipers. Several White Ibises on the coast may have next morning. By the morning of the 16th it had degener- been brought by the storm, as perhaps was a Wood Stork ated to a tropical depression centered over northeastern inland in . Other not obviously storm asso- Louisiana. Ever weaker, it was centered near the Missis- ciated records included Wood Storks from Oklahoma and sippi-Tennesseeborder on the following morning, and an New York, a White Ibis from Pennsylvania and an Arctic ill-defined area of rain was east of ChesapeakeBay on the Tern on shore in at or after the storm's morning of the 18th. passage.

Volume 40, Number I 75 was located over eastern on the morning of August 28 (Fig. 2). It moved east acrossCuba and into the off western Cuba during the next 24 hours. It spent the next three days intensifying and meandering north to 75 miles south of Tallahassee, Florida on the morning of September 1st, then turned northwest to come ashore in Mississippi on the morning of the 2nd. The remnant of the storm was located over the northwestern corner of Louisiana on the next morning, and its remains were over the southern Ohio River valley on the morning of the 4th. Again most unusual bird reports associatedwith Elena came from the Central Southern Region, with a scattering of birds as far north as the Appalachian Region. Florida yielded "early" Pomarine Jaegers,Glossy Ibises, a North- ern Gannet, several hundred Magnificent Frigatebirds, a Red Phalaropeand severalBridled Terns.Mississippi pro- duced records of a Sooty Shearwater. Reddish Egrets and Bridled Terns, and Louisiana had an unidentified storm- petrel and two Reddish Egrets, a RoseateSpoonbill and Ruddy Turnstones appeared inland; a Northern Gannet found dead one week after the storm may have been related. saw a Magnificent Frigatebird on the coast and Willets inland. Arkansas had its first Bridled Tern, Figure 3. with storm position at 7 a.m. on date Illinois its first Royal Tern, and South Carolina its first shown. Stipplingdensity indicates intensity of storm. Sabine's Gull in the storm's aftermath, and Wood Storks appeared in West Virginia and Virginia. We now jump in the hurricane alphabet to Henri, which swept in from the tropical Atlantic formed on the , well off Cape Hatteras on Ocean, growing rapidly in strength to become one of the the night of September 22-23 (Fig. 3). It barely reached strongeststorms in recent yearsby the morning of Septem- hurricane force on the next morning as it brushed Cape ber 26, when it was 350 miles southeastof Cape Hatteras May, and its center degeneratedrapidly as it moved north (Fig. 4). Perhapsfortunately, the storm declined rapidly as into the lower Hudson River valley that day. it moved north quickly to a position off Cape May the Almost no records of birds were associated with Henri morning of the 27th and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence on perhaps because birders were anticipating the onshore the morning of the 28th. arrival of its immediate predecessor,Gloria. A Least Tern Most bird records associated with Gloria came from the in Ontario and a couple of Laughing Gulls in upstateNew Hudson-Delaware and Middle Atlantic Coast regions. It is York perhaps were its results. Shorebirds grounded on unfortunate that the Northeastern Maritime Region was Long Island after the storm had passed included a fresh too late to appearin this issue,as that Regionis bestsuited juvenile Curlew Sandpiper and a Ruff in fresh juvenal to have intercepted birds swept in by Gloria. New York plumage. birders found a small black-and-white shearwater, Wil- son'sand Leach'sstorm-petrels, a Magnificent Frigatebird, and numerous southern terns of five species. In its after- math, massive groundingsof migrants, including shore- birds, Chimney Swifts, warblers and Bobolinks, were found on Long Island. Interestedreaders could check The Kingbird and the Hudson-Delaware Region for a more complete account: unusually late Golden-winged,Worm- eating, and Yellow-throatedwarblers are noted in these pages. Caspian and Sandwich terns are noted from New Jersey,along with a late ProthonotaryWarbler. Late Purple Martins and a Golden-winged Warbler from North Caro- lina, numbers of Royal and Caspian terns from Virginia, and Sandwich Terns from Delaware all seemed associated with this storm. Hurricane Isabel formed east of the Bahama Islands October 9 (Fig. 5), and moved east to a position 10 miles off Cape Canaveral,Florida, by the morning of October10. The center made landfall in southeasternGeorgia the fol- lowing night, where it remained stalled for two days, weakening rapidly. Its remnants then moved northeast along the coastto Cape HatterasOctober 14. At this time a secondarycenter reorganizedon the open Atlantic Ocean south of Cape Hatteras. This new but short-lived center moved well offshore to a position east of Hatteras on the morning of the 15th, and dissipated during that day. Only a few reportsof birds were associatedwith Hurri- Figure 2. Hurricane Elena with storm position at 7 a.m. on date cane Isabel. An American White Pelican appearedin Dela- shown. Stipplingdensity indicates intensity of storm. ware just aheadof the storm,while to the north, unusually

76 AmericanBirds, 1986 in Virginia and later in westernNew York, and late Glossy Ibises arrived almost simultaneously in North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania,upstate New York and southern Ontario. Juan had an even greaterimpact on migratory landbirds. I found about 80 referencesto grounded or late migrants that seem to be associatedwith Juan. Impressive numbers of Chimney Swifts were seen in Louisiana and Florida, a reversemigration of over 3000 Broad-wingedHawks was seen in Louisiana, and 200 Ospreyswere counted in Ten- nessee after the storm. Large numbers of grounded migrants throughout the southeastleft many very tardy-- some unprecedentlyso--individuals during the week fol- lowing Juan's passage:Acadian and Willow flycatchers, $wainson's Thrush, Yellow-throated and Red-eyed vireos, Golden-winged, Yellow, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green, Blackburntan, Yellow-throated, Bay-breasted, Worm-eating,and Hooded warblers.Louisiana and North- ern waterthrushes and Scarlet Tanagers from Louisiana; Eastern Wood-Pewee,Northern Rough-winged and Bank swallows,Gray-cheeked and Wood thrushes,Blue-winged, õ 26 Sep Golden-winged, , Cape May, Black-throated Blue. Blackburntan, Blackpoll. Worm-eating and Hooded warblers, and Yellow-breasted Chats from Mississippi; an Figure 4. Hurricane Gloria with stormposition at 7 a. tn. on date Acadian Flycatcher, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, shown. Stipplingdensity indicates intensity of stortn. Wood Thrushes, Yellow-throatedand Philadelphia vireos, Blue-winged, Golden-winged, Chestnut-sided, Bay- high numbers of Forster'sTerns were in southeastern breasted, and Hooded warblers, and Ovenbirds from Flor- Pennsylvania.Over 1000 Royal Ternswere counted in New ida; Black-billed Cuckooand Magnolia Warbler in Georgia; Jerseyafter Isabel had weakened. Later Prothonotaryand Tennessee Warbler in Kentucky; Common Ground-Dove Cerulean warblers in North Carolina, and South Carolina's and Barn Swallow in Tennessee; Cliff Swallow and Canada first Bell's Vireo also may have been storm-associated. Warbler in North Carolina; Yellow-throated Vireo in South formed in the Caribbean and caused Carolina; an Eastern Wood-Pewee in ; a Swain- much damage in Puerto Rico before impacting the main- son'sWarbler in New Jersey;and a Tree Swallow in west- land. On the morning of October 26 its center was in the ern Pennsylvania. Among these records were several Gulf of Mexico, 400 miles south of Louisiana (Fig. 6). Dur- western vagrants: Ash-throated and Scissor-tailed Fly- ing the next two days it moved north to the Louisiana catchers in Louisiana and in Florida, where a White- coast, where it remained stalled October 28-30. It then winged Dove and a Brown-crested Flycatcher also turned east and finally north to come ashore in Missis- appeared;Western Kingbird in Georgia;both "Audubon's" sippi on the morning of the 31st. Its remnants were over easternTennessee on the morning of November 1st, and a swirling rain center remained over the eastern for the next two days. Then, associatedwith a passing frontal system,a center reorganizedin the Gulf of Mexico south of the Florida panhandle November 3. This second- ary center moved north to eastern South Carolina by the morning of the 4th, to eastern West Virginia by the 5th, northeastto Cape Cod by the 6th. and north to New Bruns- wick on the 7th. Juan had the longest overland path of any of these storms, and in many ways, had the biggestimpact, espe- cially in the Central Southern Region. In Louisiana, large numbers of Franklin'sGulls appeared in advance of the storm, which brought Magnificent Frigatebirdsand late Common Terns with its passage. In Mississippi, the approaching storn• brought high numbers of White- winged Scoters,Common Terns, and pushed Clapper Rails to high ground where they were easily counted. Juan pro- duced inland recordsof American Oystercatchers,a Long- billed Curlew, a Hudsontan Godwit and Frankling Gulls. As the storm heightened,a Wilson's Storm-Petrel,Hudso- ntan Godwits, and Sandwich, Sooty and Bridled terns were found in Mississippi. Florida yielded a late Magnifi- cent Frigatebird, a moribund Pomafine Jaeger, many Franklin's Gulls, a few Sooty and Bridled terns and late Common Terns.During Juan'slast stages,a Masked Booby turned up in Florida, nine American White Pelicans, a late Magnificent Frigatebird and a Hudsontan Godwit Figure 5. Hurricane Isabel with stormposition at 7 a.m. on date appeared in South Carolina. Laughing Gulls were inland shown. Stipplingdensity indicates intensity of storm.

Volume 40, Number 1 77 7 Nov õ'

6 Nov

5 Nov

1 Nov

Nov

Oct:51Oct;õ :5 Nov

Figure 6. HurricaneJuan with stormposition at 7 a.m. on dateshown. Stippling density indicates intensity of storm. and Black-throated Gray warblers in Mississippi; and A few speciesaffected by hurricaneswere noted so fre- Black-headed Grosbeaks in Louisiana and Florida. quently in regional reports that I also examined their was centered over Cuba south of Florida reportswithout regardto specificstorms or sites.Laughing on the morning of November19 (Fig. 7}. It moved north- Gulls were unusuallynumerous inland west of the Missis- west into the Gulf of Mexico the next morning, then sippi and north to Ontario. There are about 35 references turned north and later east to make landfall on the Florida to over100 birds in this season'sreports. They had reached Panhandle on the 21st. Its center was over Savannah, Geor- the central Great Lakes and the Ohio River drainage in gia, on the morning of the 22nd, and its last remains were early August, and large numberswere on Lake Erie in just south of Cape Hatterason the morning of the 23rd. Ohio before Danny formed in mid-August. Many later Only a few waterbird reports could be tied to Kate: sev- sightingswere contemporaneouswith the passageof the eral Masked Boobysfrom Florida, American White Peli- hurricanes.The many fewer White Ibis recordsshowed a cans and Wilson's Plovers late, Laughing Gulls inland in similar pattern, but the latestreport was in early Septem- North Carolina, and a White-tailed Tropicbird from New ber. Wood Stork records correlated better with times and Jersey.Most other recordswere of late migrants:Common placeswhere hurricaneswere present.Forster's Terns fre- Nighthawks, Chimney Swifts and a ProthonotaryWarbler quently were mentionedas beingboth numerousand late in Florida; Black-throated Green Warbler in Georgia; a in the Midwest and Northeast.Most recordsof this species Chimney Swift in South Carolina; Tennesseeand Wilson's cameafter late September,after the passageof severalhur- warblers in North Carolina; Tree Swallow and Solitary ricanes, but this speciesoften is a late migrant anyway. Vireo in Tennessee,and Scarlet Tanagerin Delaware. Per- Records of American While Pelicans from this area had a haps related was a Fork-tailed Flycatcher seen briefly in similar rangeof dates,but many were far from the paths Florida just after the storm had faded. of hurricanes. In contrast, most reports of Glossy Ibises Both Gloria and Juan apparently grounded many birds were late and associatedwith Hurricane Juan. Each of that were attemptingto fly south through the path of the these speciesappear in this area every Fall but usually storm. However, the many exceptionally late dates for in smaller numbers.It is unclear how many in this year's migrants, notably the several records of Golden-winged reports were the result of hurricanes. Warblers associatedwith these storms, suggestthat they Hurricanes have become synonymous with tropical also intercepted birds farther south and carried them (sea)birds inland. The lessonfrom this Fall is clearly that north. Given its late dates, Hurricane Kate may have acted their major impact can be, and likely is, quite different. primarily in this way. Hurricanesare large,severe storms through which migra-

78 AmericanBirds, Spring1986 tory birds are reluctant to pass. Hurricanes can ground hundreds or thousands of migrating birds, that may be exhausted from fighting the storm and prevented from feeding freely by the inclement weather that accompanies them. These birds generally were covered poorly in the pagesof American Birds. I cannot tell whether contribu- tors or RegionalEditors, or both, are at fault. However,this ii::2$ Nov seasonshouts a simple message.In a hurricane season, most rarities are common birds.

Early and Late Migrants August and Septemberwere hot to normally mild over most of North America, and Septemberwas generally wet. "22Nov Except for the tropical storms, there was little severe ..,,) weather over much of easternNorth America during most of the Fall. Frosts, and freezesgenerally came late in November, and not at all in much of the Southeast. North I and west of Lake Michigan, late Fall weather was more inclement. Extreme cold dominated over much of Canada and the northern Rockies in November, when a series of stormsbrought much rain and snow to the Pacific North- west. The Southwest's weather remained relatively mild. Figure 7. Hurricane Kate with stormposition at 7 a.m. on date The seasonwas ripe for numerouslate departuresand late shown. Stt)•plingdensity indicates intensity of storm. arrivals. Correspondingly,early dateswere not much to be expected. About 70 records were characterized as being "early." Population highs and lows Several of these were of irruptive speciesand will be dis- cussed later. Of the residue, the most extreme dates were A few reports on population highs and lows stand out. of a Bay-breasted Warbler in Louisiana and a White- From the various regions spanning the Great Plains and the Rockies we read that Whooping Cranes had a good crowned Sparrow from northern .both a month early year,with the total population higher than ever. Now suffi- in mid-August. A Wren in Southern California in late August was both early and exceptionally far south. cient wintering groundson the Texascoast are becoming increasinglyimportant as a factorlimiting the population In contrast,over 300 recordswere characterizedas being "late." Almost one-half came from the Southeast in associ- size of this species.The cranestransplanted to Idaho, that winter in New Mexico continue to hold on, without pro- ation with Hurricane Juan. Others were distant from tropi- cal shores. In November birders found Gray Catbirds in ducingyoung of their own. The decline in duck popula- Manitoba; Pine Warblersand a Le Conte'sSparrow in Min- tions, especially in the East, was well publicized and showed up pretty well in the regional reports. However, nesota;a LesserGolden-Plover, a Red Knot, Semipalmated Sandpipers, both cuckoos, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, a Tundra Swans and geeseseemed to have had a good sea- son,with the bestflights ever in much of the Midwest and Wood Thrush, and Cape May, Bay-breasted,Blackpoll and Great Plains. Double-crestedCormorants are not so quietly Wilson'swarblers in Ontario; a Red-eyedVireo, Tennessee and Black-throated Blue warblers, and an American Red- makinga strongcomeback, probably reflecting its freedom from DDT for many yearsnow. A Mississippi Kite far north start in Quebec; a Ruddy Turnstone, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and a Swainson's Thrush in Indiana; Sabine's Gull, in Saskatchewan doubtlessly reflected recovery of this Northern Parula and Cape May Warbler in Illinois; Ameri- speciesas well. Merlins and Peregrinescontinue to do can Woodcocks in Illinois and Ohio; American Avocet, well, but no big gains were evident this Fall. Reports of several of the rarer native Hawaiian birds continued to Spotted and Least sandpipers, Common Tern, Eastern accumulate. A disturbing negative observation was the Kingbird, EasternWood-Pewee, Wood Thrush and Mourn- ing Warbler in Ohio; Swainsoffs Thrush in Iowa; and rapid decline of Clapper Rails in their former Southern California strongholdsduring the past five years. Baird's Sandpiper, Tree Swallow, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Orange-crownedWarbler in upstateNew York. With generally colder weather in the late Fall, western Irruptives birders found fewer equivalent records. These included Irruptive raptorswere little in evidencethis season.Nei- November Orange-crownedand Yellow-rumped warblers ther Northern Goshawk nor Gyrfalcon were mentioned and a Swamp Sparrow from Alaska; Sedge Wren from much. Rough-leggedHawk patternswere strangeand inex~ Alberta; Swamp Sparrow from Saskatchewan;Greater Yel- plicable. Very early arrivals were reported from Oregon, lowlegs from easternBritish Columbia; Cattle Egretsfrom Montana, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Ontario, but, Washington,Idaho and Colorado;Black-bellied Plover and afterwards, numbers were unexceptional everywhere. No Common Nighthawk from Colorado;Lesser Golden-Plover owl specieswere found in significantnumbers south of and Say's Phoebe from Utah; Forster'sTern, Ash-throated their breeding ranges. Northern Shrikes were widely Flycatcher,Violet-green and Barn swallows, and Orange- reported,but only Wisconsinobservers reported substan- crowned Warbler from New Mexico; Least Sandpipers (in tial numbers. 8 inches of snow!) in Arizona; and Baird's Sandpiper and There was a small incursion of Black-backedWoodpeck- Sabine's Gull from Southern California. In addition, there ers near Lake Superior in Ontario and Minnesota, with were about a dozen more November records of landbirds one west to Saskatchewan.They were joined by Three- from the West that I classified primarily as "vagrants" toed Woodpeckersin Minnesota only. Other woodpeckers rather than "late" migrants. got little or inconsistenl mention.

Volume 40, Number 1 79 Irruptlve seed and berry feeding landbirds were more hard to assesswithout two of the PacificCoast Regional conspicuous.Blue Jaysmade a strongmovement into the Reports.This is especially unfortunate, becausethe other GreatPlains but were seldommentioned elsewhere. Gray regional reportsindicate another "Siberian express"win- Jaysinvaded the north shoreof LakeSuperior and alsothe ter in the making, althoughnot on as big a scaleas in the north shoreof the St. LawrenceRiver in Quebec.Pinyon winter of 1983-1984.Alaska had proportionallylittle to Jaysmoved east and southfrom the Rockiesin September, contribute,reflecting the absenceof observersin the Aleu- but did not remain long anywhere.Chickadee movements tian and Pribolof islands this Fall. The first hint of an were rather localized. Boreal Chickadeesstayed home, "express"came in October,when a Ruff appearedin Ari- and Black-cappedChickadees were numerousonly in zona, a Spotted Redshank in Southern California, and western Ontario and western Pennsylvania. Mountain Sharp-tailedSandpipers in Arizona, SouthernCalifornia, Chickadeeswere plentiful in the lowlands along the and Illinois. In early Octobertwo Red-throatedPipits northern border of New Mexico and Arizona. Red- arrived in SouthernCalifornia and a "whitish" wagtail breastedNuthatches staged a "massexodus" from Ontario (juvenile White/Black-backedWagtail, which are indistin- and the Prairie Provincesregions, an early Fall movement guishablein the field and perhaps also.in hand), was through the northeasternUnited Statesand arrived as far found in northernArizona, to be followedby anotherin southas North Carolina,, and northernTexas by Southern California in late October. Then in November, early November.In the West large numbersappeared in Bramblingsarrived, with two in Alaskaand Wyomingand southernAlaska; they were widespreadand numerousin singles in Utah and Indiana. Other November arrivals New Mexico but little reportedin Arizona or the Rocky included Nebraska'sfirst Common Black-headedGull, an Mountain states.Pygmy Nuthatches invaded the western OklahomaBarnacle Goose (as always perhaps of dubious GreatPlains from Kansasto New Mexico in late Septem- origin), a Texas Garganey and a Tufted Duck in Southern ber,when one furnishedNorth Dakota's,first record. California. The likely Siberian origin of all of these birds American Robins and Varied Thrushes got little men- is further supportedby the near absenceof Palearcticvisi- tlon. Most of the few mentions of Townsend's Soltaires tors on the East coast:Bar-tailed Godwits in New Jersey and Mountain Bluebirdswere of vagrants.Bohemian Wax- and Florida, five Ruffs(including singles from Michigan, wings were strongly incursive into Ontario and New Ohio, and Texasthat probablywere of Siberian origin), England, with over 2400 counted in Ontario November 29. and just three each of Curlew Sandpiper and Northern Only one report camefrom the Midwest (Illinois) and the Wheatear(all far east)were noted. The size of the flight SouthernGreat Plains (Oklahoma),and they were either came as somethingof a surprise.Did the previousflight not mentioned or scarcein the northern Rockies.Large jade birders to this year's? numberswere presentin Alaska. The other exceptional set of vagrantscame from the Winter finch movements were mixed. In contrast to last oppositedirection. A Fork-tailed Flycatcherin Florida was winter, crossbillswere not much in evidenceanywhere, the only vagrantof SouthAmerican origin, and a Stripe- and PurpleFinch populations were unexceptional. White- headedTanager in Florida and a Gray Kingbirdin Georgia winged Crossbillsremained numerous in Oregon only. may have been hurricane related. Vagrantsfrom Mexico Pine Siskins staged a moderate flight. Numbers in the appearedboth in great diversity and over long distances Northeast seem to have been best in October,with declines A tie for most notablemust be sharedby a Broad-bfiled during Novemberoften mentioned. Numbers in the South- Hummingbird in South Carolina, a Green Violet-ear in east built up at this time; the ChristmasBird Counts Arkansas,a Gray Silky-Flycatcherin Texas,and a Short- shouldreveal their early winter distributionnicely. Sis- tailed Hawk in Arizona.The rest of the list is lessexcep- k•ns got little mention in the West, being numerousin tional: Black-belliedWhistling-Duck in Tennessee;Jablru, Alaska until October and otherwise noted as numerous Northern Jacana, Green Parakeet, Red-crowned Parrot, only in New Mexico. Clay-colored Robin and Red-faced Warbler in Texas, the Pine Grosbeaks,Common Redpolls, and EveningGros- first Couch'sKingbird and "Yellow-green"Vireo (which beaksshowed similar patternsof dispersal--earlyarrival seems to be a valid species after all) for New Mexico, followedby goodflights. Pine Grosbeaksstaged a strong Ruddy Ground-Doves in New Mexico, Arizona, and movement southward across the entire continent. Arrivals Southern California; Green Kingfisher, Eared Trogon, were generallyearly and goodnumbers were presentas far Aztec Thrush, Rufous-backed Robins in Arizona; and southas Ohio and New Jerseyby the season'send. Signifi- Broad-billed Hummingbirdsin Southern California and in cantly, high populationswere noted in British Columbia Nevada.Alaska's first confirmedand identifiedfrigatebird, and Alaskaas well, but not in regionsbordering the west- a Magnificent,belongs in this list as well; a push of this ern montane populations. Redpolls arrived early in speciesinto the southwestalso broughtone to the Grand Nebraska, North Dakota, Montana, Wisconsin, and New Canyon, another to Colorado and at least eight to the Sal- York.Large numbers were presentin southernCanada and ton Sea. the northernmostUnited Statesby the end of the season; I like to keep tabs on Groove-billedAni reports.This the report farthestsouth was from the District of Colum- Fall there were relatively few. Most were alongthe Gulf bia. Few redpollswere identified as Hoaries,so the move- Coast, the farthest east from the Florida Panhandle. Far- ment mainly involved southern nesting populations. ther afield were one in Nebraska,Tennessee's second-ever, EveningGrosbeaks arrived quite early in Wisconsin,New one in New Mexico and three in Arizona. Similarly,Tropi- Jersey,North Carolina, and New Mexico. In the northeast, cal Kingbirdswere scarcein SouthernCalifornia this Fall numberstended to be better in Octoberthan in November, Given the many other Mexican birds found this Fall, one as arrivals were being recorded in Maryland, Tennessee, might have expectedmore reportsthan norinal.However, and Kansas. They reached Arkansas and Oklahoma in this scarcityeven in a Fall like this was not surprising November,when a few also appearedin southeastern Surely more than one factor is responsiblefor displace- Arizona. ment of these birds. Except for the Hawaiian Islands and the SouthernAtlan- Rarities tic Coastregions, seabirds were poorly reportedthis fall Most recordswere of rarities.Tropical storm-petrelscon- The full extent of vagrant Palearcticbirds this Fall is tinue to appearin the Gulf Stream,with no surprisesthis

80 AmericanBirds, Spring 1986 Fall More than usual White-tailed Tropicbirdswere seen Regional Report this Fall As a former member of New off North Carolina. Red-billed Tropicbird was added to the York's avian records committee, I can only comment that Texas list, but was scarce off the coast of Southern the committeeon which I servedtook no pleasurein judg- California. ing records unacceptable.I am sure this is true of other Check the Appalachian Regional Report for an athleti- committeesand for the RegionalEditors as well. Records cally minded Northern Fulmar In Pennsylvania.Sabine's committees in North America are a new and valuable Gull is either becomingcommoner inland or birders are addition to the birding scene, and deservesupport from getting better at recognizing them. There were about 30 birderseverywhere. Almost all are strugglingto find a bal- reports of 50 birds inland this Fall, six of them in Novem- ance betweenthe traditional "polite" approachof saying ber In contrast,Black-legged Kittiwakes were numerous as little as possibleabout records not acceptedand trying inland only on Lake Ontario, but Arkansasgot its first to help contributorswrite better reports so that fewer good record this Fall. There were five inland reports of Long- recordswill fail to passtheir reviews. Many issuescome tailed Jaegersfrom Ontario, New York, and California, the into play. Many amateurs are not used to having their latest October 1. There were 24 mentions of about 50 Para- observationsquestions. Professional ornithologists some- sitic Jaegersinland, their numbers nowhere exceptional. times are even worse! Good birders know that they should There were about 13 reports of 15-20 PomarineJaegers. be role models for others.Nonscientists may be upset by Recordsof both specieswere evenly distributed in time the different standardsthat normally apply in scientific and space acrossthe continent, giving little evidence of contexts.Rather than extending the benefit of the doubt as migratory patterns.The only alcid inland was an Ancient our legal tradition does, the scientific approach begins Murrelet in New Mexico. with skepticismintended to reducethe risk of erroneously With two Pacific Coast Regional Reportsmissing, it is acceptinga falseconclusion, even thoughthe costis disal- difficult to say much about "easternbirds west." Ten Pro- lowing some good records. But foremost,the role that thonotary Warblers from six states are more than usual. records committees play in screening records is over- Early August records of Louisiana Waterthrushes from emphasized. Their decisions are important only to the Arizona and Southern California (second state record) extent that the ornithological community is willing to were in keepingwith the species'early Fall migration,and acceptthem. The long-termimportance of thesecommit- Idaho's first Smith's Longspurwas provided by a rare teesis in providinga vehicle by which reportscan be pre- report west of the Great Plains. A Swainson'sWarbler in served for posterity, and an archives where other Arizona furnished perhapsthe secondwestern record, and investigatorscan come, examine these reports and make a Palm Warbler became well-vetted by attending the an independent judgment as to their validity if they so A O.U. meetings in Tucson. Other firsts reported this Fall choose. were: a CanadaWarbler in Montana, BlackpollWarblers in Montana and easternWashington, Mourning and Hooded warblersin Utah and a Henslow'sSparrow (alas, poorly Automated records processing documented), in Colorado. Until this Fall I have preparedthe ChangingSeason by Many of the "western birds east" have already been trying to compresseach regionalreport onto a singlesheet noted under the discussionof Hurricane Juan. There were of paper that containsthe highlights only, sometimesorga- no truly exceptional reports this Fall. The several new nized by category and sometimes by geography. The recordsof Clark's Grebe (formerly classifiedas the light- Changing Seasons was prepared primarily from these morph of the Western Grebe), from the Great Plains and summary sheets,but with frequent reference back to the Mississippi Valley probably mean that observersjust manuscripts for records I missed on the first pass and to haven't looked before. A "Caribbean-like" coot from Illi- check on my often illegible scrawlings.In a busy Fall, and nois was reportedwith commendablecaution; I have long all Falls seemto be busy,it is easyto loserecords this way doubted the validity of this form, other than as a color With bettersoftware and a more capablecomputer in hand morph. A "LesserNighthawk" in the District of Columbia, this Fall, I created a single data set that contained about wasfinally shown to be a Commonfrom its photographs. one-half of the recordsthat appear in this seasoffsreports Louisiana birders added California Gull to their state list Becauseof time constraints,I purposelyignored some spe- in grand fashion by finding five this Fall! Rufous Hum- cies, notably ducks and sparrows.After noticing many mingbirds were relatively scarcein the east, but reports mentions of geeseand swans about half way through this came from Ohio (a first), Pennsylvania,Delaware and process,I went back and added them to the data set, only North Carolinaas well asthe Gulf Coast.Six Say'sPhoebes to see their records thin out in subsequent regional came (in chronologicalorder) from Quebec, Ontario, Ten- reports. After I finished entering the bird records, I also nessee, Illinois, New York, and Vermont; these furnished addedrecords giving hurricane positions to simplifyfur- first for Tennesseeand Vermont,and were especiallyfrus- ther analysis. trating to birders in Ontario. Black-billed Magpies were A lot was left out. Readers with other biases will have found in Iowa, Wisconsinand Quebec.Sage Thrasher was no trouble finding these reports.I finished with a collec- added to the Delawarelist and singleswere found also in tion of over 1700 records of birds; the three missing Ohio and Virginia. Ontario recorded its first-ever Fall regions would have added about 400 more records. The BelL'sVireo. A plumbeous Solitary Vireo was in south records of species that I ignored, probably would have Texas. "Audubon's"Warblers reached Mississippi and doubled this total. With more time I could have tried to Minnesota in November.Vagrant House Finches in Minne- include everything,because the result was very satisfying sota, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota and Saskatchewan are ! could sort theserecords by a variety of categories,and, finally closingthe gap betweennative westernand intro- if the result didn't look interesting one way, quickly duced easternpopulations; one wonders what originally rearrangethem using different categories.There were lots kept them all west. A LesserGoldfinch seen briefly in of surprises,perhaps the greatestbeing how hard it would South Carolina was without precedent on the Atlantic be to show that birds fly south in the Fall from the records Seaboard. that appear in these pages]I also encountered a number Grumblingsabout having to documenttheir reportsby of problems in doing this, for not all of which I found some contributors, surfaced in the Niagara-Champlain solutions.

Volume 40, Number 1 81 B•rd names are a bore to type The programthat I used m•nute of arc, would be even better More accuracyusu- automated this somewhat, helping to make my entries ally is unwarranted for birds. It would be a worthwhfie consistent.Use of the four-letter code names adopted by proiect to compile a gazetteergiving coordinatesof locah- the Bird Banding Office would have been even easier; ties mentioned (or regularly used localities) in American however,the last set of codenames that I had was compro- Birds during recent years. Once such a list was available, mised by the Sixth Edition to the A.O.U. Check-list,in that RegionalEditors could updatethe list by providingcoordi- thesecode names no longercorrespond well with English nates for additional localities as they appeared in the names. A.O.U. numbers are another possibility but are regional reports. harder to remember.Some standardcoding for bird names Still, all of this was not enough, and led to the issue that ought to be adoptedby and disseminatedinto the birding I never really resolved. I often wanted to select recordsby community. For reasons raised below, this code need not a variety of criteria which was a mix of taxonomic, distri- have anythingto do with the formal classificationof birds. butional, ecological,behaviorial and biopolitical qualities It should simply and uniquely identify each different spe- They sometimesdepended on the bird in question, some- cies. It would be desirableto make it easy to remember. times on the place, sometimeson the time. My attempted While entering records, I became aware of the looseness solution was to append a series of terms, such as "late," w•th which dates of recordsappear in this iournal. They "vagrant"or "irruptive," to each recordin order to catego- rangefrom 'omitted' through 'vague'and 'approximate'to rize them generically. This approach did not work well, 'precise.'I handled approximatedates by recordingthem partly becausemy categorieswere too broad. More catego- as the 0th date of the month, and vague or omitted dates ries might have helped, but as they become increasingly by guessingor by ignoringthe record.For extendedstays, fine, their value decreases. Moreover, the same record I entered the arrival date and used a "comments"entry to often falls into multiple categories.I tried to work around record its duration along with other tidbits, such as this by starting with a category,then adding other records counts,age and sex information and special distributional of the species,and/or omitting other records that seemed notes. Unfortunately, it proved easy to corrupt this part of inappropriate, regardlessof the initial categoryin which I the data set, which I did regularly until I learned better, had put the record.This quickly becametoo complex.The so I had to use these notes with care. Better reporting of real issue is that most questions about the data set are ad dates by contributors and by Regional Editors, always hoc; e.g .... what vagrant landbirds occurred in the East desirable,is beyond my control. this Fall, and typically require appending new informa- It is well known that birders birdwatch primarily on tion (such as, bird X breedsin the West), before one can weekends. How skewed was the sample of reports I obtain an answer. Most of the information that I needed to entered?There were abouttwice as manyentries for Satur- add was not taxonomicin nature;that's why I think code days and Sundays than for any weekday. Tuesdays namesfor birds need not reflecttheir systematics.The pro- appearedless often. The expectedbias exists in these data, gram I used was not quite up to this. I'm not sure if data but it is not as bad as I had feared. management programs ever will be; "logic programming" Locations proved to be another problem. I decided to comescloser. I'm still not sure which properties of birds I focusat the stateor provincial level from the start. Because will need to use, nor how best to record them, to be able several statesoccur in multiple regionsI found that I also to explore this data set more freely.Regardless, I'm looking had to indicate in which region every record occurred. forward to trying other approachesnext time. Again this step was automatednicely by the programthat I think that we are rapidly approachinga time when •t I used. I spent some time using an Atlas to determine the will be reasonable to expect to exchange ornithological state or province for some localities when that information distributional data throughmachines as often as through was omitted from regional reports, and I may still have publications and other written forms now. Key issues to had a few errors for this summary. settle in advance are standards and conventions which I wanted to be able to arrangerecords geographically. must be consistent, so that data from different birders The obvious solution was to append the latitude and !on- really are sharable.The problemsthat I had in preparing g•tude to each record. Time constraintsforced me to use my data set hint at the issueswith which this set of stan- a s•ngle value for each state or province, taken at the center dards must deal. The time to beginan open discussion•s of that geopolitical unit. Rodney L. Crawford reviewed nOW. gr•d systemsused to record locality data with biological This has been one of the few Falls in recent yearswhen specimens (Systematic Zoology 32:389-402; 1983) and ! expected this summary to be as long as it turned out to concludedthat decimal degrees(angular measure written be. I have emphasized that there is much more tucked •n fractional degreesrather than in minutes and seconds away in regional reports than appears in this Changing of arc) workedbest. My experienceoverwhelmingly sup- Seasons.Read and enjoy. portsthis for all avian distributionaldata. Accuracy to the nearestdegree probably would suffice,but carryingit two Educational Communications, SUNY Health d•g•tspast the decimal, which gives accuracyto within a Sciences Center at Syracuse, Syracuse, NY 13210

82 AmericanBirds, Spnng 1986