Turnover?
Jackson Park, IL
Thursday 7 May 2020
55 °F
In the birding sense of the word, “turnover” refers to a day in the migration season when there is a significant change in the migratory species present from the day before. I was hoping to see a bit of turnover today since it was the first night with somewhat-favorable winds for migration last night. And since the winds were out of the west, I was hoping that some of the migrants would be pushed toward the lakefront; therefore, I headed to Jackson Park.
Unfortunately, it was most certainly not the case today despite the favorable winds — BROWN CREEPERS, a classic early spring species, are still around.
A few classic staples of mid-spring migration were around as well, like BALTIMORE ORIOLE:
And ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK:
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW:
Warblers were few and far between except for an abundance of YELLOW WARBLERS:
And COMMON YELLOWTHROAT:
And BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER:
WARBLING VIREO:
HOUSE WREN:
So I soon left Jackson Park and headed to Columbus Park closer to home, where apart from a WOOD THRUSH, it was a relative migrant desert. There was a pretty male AMERICAN GOLDFINCH though:
To my great displeasure, upon returning home, I saw that a LeConte’s Sparrow was being reported at Jackson Park — that would have been a life bird for me! Argh, I had class...
Migration has oneself been really disappointing so far due to continuous northerly winds, with no end in near sight, unfortunately...well, hopefully things will start picking up around the 18th or 20th — fingers crossed! Bird-of-the-day to the Black-and-White Warbler with runner-up to the Baltimore Oriole. Not much to chose from today.
Good birding,
Henry
World Life List: 1114 Species
