Swainson's Thrush photo by Suan Yong

A migrating Swainson’s Thrush was detected by the Cayuga Bird Club’s Motus receiver at Myers Park on the evening of October 9, 2023. 

This bird had been radio-tagged on March 28, 2023, on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. The thrush flew north past receivers in northern Costa Rica and Guatemala and was detected at a site at the US-Mexico border in the Lower Rio Grande Valley at the end of April. There were no further detections of the bird during the spring and summer months. There are very few Motus stations in the northern coniferous forests where many Swainson’s Thrushes breed, and it is unknown how far north this bird traveled.

But at approximately 7:30 pm on October 9, the thrush reappeared in the Motus network, when it was detected by our receiver at Myers Park. The bird was next detected in Pennsylvania on October 11, and in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia the following week. There have been no further detections since it passed by the southern tip of the Delmarva peninsula in Virginia on October 16. 

We can hope that the bird will be detected by more stations to the south of us. Will it return to Central America for the winter months?

Our Myers Park receiver has previously detected five other Swainson’s thrushes during their Fall migrations, in 2021 and 2022. The first Swainson’s Thrush detected by our receiver made it as far as Panama, and another to Costa Rica. Each of the five previous thrushes detected at Myers Park had been tagged in late summer near Montreal. This 2023 detection, of a bird tagged last March in Central America, lets us see partial migration paths in both spring and fall for a single individual. 

Swainson’s thrushes migrate long distances, wintering in Central America, the Caribbean  Islands, or far into the Andes Mountains of South America. Migration is a dangerous journey for these birds; Swainson’s Thrushes are especially vulnerable to collisions with communications towers and tall buildings, and account for many of the bird mortalities found at those sites.

Red Knot at Myers Point, 2013, photo by Jay McGowan

Magnolia Warbler, photo by Sandy Podulka

A Motus detection map has recently become available for a Magnolia Warbler that we detected at Myers Point on May 16. Magnolia Warblers breed in the northeastern US and southern Canada and winter in Central America and the Caribbean. This warbler was tagged in Ohio on May 10, and was detected by other Motus receivers in Ohio and Pennsylvania as it headed northeast. It was detected at Myers Point at 12:30 am on May 16 for just a minute on its way to Montreal and then to the St Lawrence River at the Gaspé Peninsula (May 19). No later detections have been reported. Map: 

Like other warblers, Magnolia Warblers are night migrants. While window collisions are a hazard during migration, Magnolia Warbler populations have remained relatively stable over recent decades.

White-throated Sparrow, photo by Phil McNeil

A White-throated Sparrow was detected at our Mount Pleasant Motus station on May 10, 2023, at approximately 11:45 pm EDT. This sparrow had been tagged on February 19 by a Georgia Tech group studying migratory songbirds in the Athens, Georgia area. The tagged sparrow spent two more months at the Athens Botanical garden, with detections there daily until April 21, when it was picked up by a Motus station at Caesar’s Head, South Carolina. Further detections were made in Virginia and central Pennsylvania before our detection on Mount Pleasant.

Ten miles from Mount Pleasant, at our Myers Park Motus station, another White-throated Sparrow was detected 24 hours later. This second sparrow was tagged in southwestern Pennsylvania on May 4. It was not detected at Mount Pleasant, nor was the Georgia-tagged sparrow detected at Myers Park. 

eBird bar charts show that White-throated Sparrows are found in Tompkins county during the winter months, with more birds arriving in late April and early May.  White-throated sparrows breed in northern forests, some going as far as the Hudson Bay Area. In September and October White-throated Sparrows return to our area for the winter or pass through on their way south.

White-throated Sparrows are night migrants, vulnerable to impacts with tall lighted buildings. Their population has declined by more than 90% over the past fifty years, though they remain a species of low conservation concern due to their relative abundance.

Bank Swallow, Myers Point, Lansing.  Photo by Jay McGowan

Two Bank Swallows were detected by our Motus receiver at Myers Park during July, 2023.  Both swallows are part of a Canadian Bank Swallow migration study that includes more than 900 radio-tagged birds. The first Bank Swallow that we detected at Myers Park was tagged near Montreal on June 22, detected at Derby Hill Observatory on July 9, and then at Myers Park about five hours later on July 9. No further detections to the south have yet been reported. A map of this bird's migration movements is shown below.

The second Bank Swallow was detected at Myers Park on July 31 and had been tagged June 21st, also near Montreal. That bird was detected at Myers Point on the afternoon of July 31 for approximately half an hour, but has not been detected by other Motus stations thus far.

The Bank Swallow population in Canada has declined by 93% since monitoring began in the 1970s. While there may be multiple contributing factors to this steep decline, it is thought that at least part of the decline might be caused by factors occurring outside of Canada, either during migration or on the wintering grounds. Studies of their migration routes may help to understand whether conservation measures during along their migratory pathways are needed to protect this species.

Horned Lark, photo by Tracy McLellan

A Horned Lark was detected by our Myers Point Motus receiver on March 20, 2023 at approximately 9:40 am EDT. The bird had been tagged on October 3, 2022 at a site near Taudussac, Quebec. The bird was detected that November heading south through Vermont and Pennsylvania, and then reappeared in March 2023 with our detection at Myers Park and then at Murcrest Farms near Watertown (March 29). It was subsequently detected by two receivers in the Montreal area in April. No further detections have been reported.

Horned Larks are partial migrants, with those in the northern portion of their range heading south for the winter, while birds in the US may migrate very little. Motus tracking can help to better understand distance, routes, and timing of Horned Lark migrations. Horned Larks are not rare, but they are a species in steep decline, with a loss of more than 65% of their population in recent decades.

Semipalmated Plover, photo by Jay McGowan

On August 11, 2022, a Semipalmated Plover was detected on its southward flight. This bird had been tagged on Hudson Bay in Manitoba in June. It was next detected on August 11 by Motus stations on the south shore of Lake Ontario and at Montezuma NWR before flying by Mount Pleasant. This plover reached North Carolina on August 13. The most recent detection for this radio-tagged Semipalmated Plover was to the north, at Kent Island, New Brunswick, on September 8. eBird bar charts for Kent Island show that Semipalmated Plovers are common there throughout the fall. It will be interesting to find out where this bird heads next. 

Semipalmated Plovers breed in the arctic and winter along the east and west coasts of both North and South America. During migration they can be found inland at lake shores, muddy ponds, and wet farm fields.

A map of this Semipalmated Plover's movements is shown below. An animated track can be viewed at at https://motus.org/data/track?tagDeploymentId=33465.

White-throated Sparrow, photo by Phil McNeil