Migration conditions finally improved to end out the last full week of May. Late season migrants continue to move through but the big numbers have already come and gone. It was nice to finally get some sun and warmth to end out the week. Notables for the week have included the arrival of Olive sided Flycatchers, Mourning Warblers and a Gray cheeked Thrush. One of my Hooded Merganser nests fledged and I got video of them leaving (link to them leaving nestbox). Now comes several breeding bird counts over the next few weeks as migration comes to an end. Not a lot of time to add more details for the week so will just add some photos to summarize it all. I would be remiss if I didn't mention an interaction I had with another birder today. I was listening to a rare and threatened breeding species in the area and a car pulled up a few hundred feet away from me. They got out and immediately started blasting playback of the species. Keep in mind the species was singing very closely and with even a minor amount of effort could be seen. Instead they got out of the car and with 30 seconds started using amplified playback. I immediately approached and called them out their extremely unethical behavior. They had no excuse beyond 'we wanted to see the bird'...no effort at all to actually look for it so instead they figured they would stress out the bird in breeding season so they could see a bird they knew was there. They thankfully walked away with their heads hung low and left the area. This was not a new birder and someone I know should know better. It was disheartening to see and only reinforces my decision to report less and less of the birds I see in a timely manner. The amount of unethical behavior from both birders and photographers seems to be getting worse and makes more and more people stop reporting rarities (myself included).
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