I have not been able to get out as much as I wanted the last few days due to work and the weather but I did get out at least a little. We had a few bouts of heavy rain and thunderstorms associated with a strong cold front today. Just before the storms arrived I was able to make it over to Silvio Conte NWR-Fort River after work and I was able to turn up at least one (possibly two) Marsh Wrens that have been at the location for a few days. I was unable to get any photos but did get a recording of the bird(s) singing. The skies then opened up and that ended birding for most of the morning. I did make a brief stop at Winsor Dam to look for any storm dropped birds but didn't find any. The rain had a brief lull late in the morning before returning until mid afternoon. The next couple days look to feature the coldest air of the year so far and windy conditions out of the northwest thanks to the cold front and the winds from Hurricane Fiona well off to the east (more on tropical systems at the end of the post). I suspect some unusual species will show up but trying to find them with all the winds the next couple days will be tough but I will try. On my way to work yesterday I made a brief stop around dawn in the East Meadows but didn't find too much in the limited time I had available.
Once I got out of work on Tuesday morning I headed down to Arcadia where I spent a couple hours scouring the area in search of migrants. I mainly ran across single birds here and there but eventually ran across a somewhat decent mixed flock not long before I left that contained half a dozen species of warblers and other migrants. Highlights for the morning there included a Least Flycatcher, a Veery, three Swainson's Thrushes, a slightly late Yellow Warbler among 13 species of warblers and three Scarlet Tanagers. I also had a family group of Northern Mockingbirds that included some fairly recently fledged young.
Now on to the tropical season. After a bit of a slow start to the hurricane season (at least compared to the last few years) the conditions have changed with multiple systems occurring and more likely to form in the near future. The main feature right now is Hurricane Fiona, a Category 4 storm that looks to make a fairly close approach to Bermuda tomorrow morning before accelerating rapidly north for a landfall in Nova Scotia as a strong extra tropical storm (the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane at landfall most likely). The storm already hit Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and the Turks and Caicos with lots of damage mainly due to flooding. The strong cold front coming through today is keeping the storm out of the northeast US and helping to funnel the storm into southeast Canada. I'm certain some rare birds will show up in Canada this weekend with the arrival of the storm. There is also Tropical Storm Gaston in the far North Atlantic that will impact the Azores (a fairly unusual location for a tropical system). There is another tropical wave coming off Africa that will likely develop and impact the Cape Verde Islands. The final system (currently labeled as 98L) is off the north coast of South America and heading west. It is almost certain to develop into a storm within the next couple days. Where it actual develops will determine where it eventually ends up as a storm (likely a hurricane). Some models move it north and into Cuba and Florida and others into the Gulf of Mexico and others as far south as the Yucatan. It is sure to be a major impact somewhere down south but the exact location is far from certain. There is certainly a chance we will eventually see the remnants of the storm in the local area at some point. I have a post from several years ago that looks at tropical systems in the area and has lots of links to info on hurricanes...the post is linked here.
****update on birds from Nova Scotia during and after Fiona: The storm was one of the strongest to hit Canada (at least as far as low pressure goes with a reading 932mb!). Those brave enough enough to get out and bird were rewarded with some fantastic birds. Highlights included a Trindade Petrel, two Sooty Terns, a Bridled Tern and two White tailed Tropicbirds and lots of other stuff in Iona on Cape Breton and two more Trindade Petrels in East Bay (also on Cape Breton)...other reports continue to come in and I will update further as I hear of them.
****great summary link through the ABA at the following link: Hurricane Fiona report.
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