Migration is Over

Well, its been three days of birding without seeing any migrants. So, while there are bound to still be some birds moving through, for the most part, the show is over. Amazing how quickly the birds come through this part of the world. Down in Texas, migration was a protracted endevour that lasted from February through the end of May and into June. Here, ducks are moving in February, but most of the land birds seem to move through more quickly after the leaves come onto the trees. A couple good weeks, maybe a month, and now its pretty much just summer birds everywhere. While I was out a fair bit this migration, I rarely saw more than a single individual of any given species...and never saw more than a dozen of any migrant species in one place (except for Yellow-rumped Warblers), making migration more of a whimper than a full-scale howl. Maybe bird numbers are declining, maybe I didn't get out on all the right mornings, or maybe this isn't the most birdy part of the world. While I saw thousands of individuals of over 100 species, it was sadly just not quite enough. Ah, the birder's curse...always wanting more!