BirdCapeMay.org

So how "good" has the autumn of 2007 been, coast to coast, for the number of regular migrants and rarities?? I guess I'd say "so so".....so far. While there were some good neotropical migrant passerine flights at various sites in the eastern half of the continent during September and the beginning of October, those flights seemed relatively few. Now that October is half over, we are getting flights of the shorter-distance migrants--such as sparrows, kinglets, Yellow-rumpeds, etc.--and these flights have tended to be more reliable and impressive the past decade or so in many regions.

As for rarities this fall, other than the exceptional season in the Bering Sea region, it seems to be also a "so so" year to date. Yes, there have been some exceptional rarities, such as the Green-breasted Mango in Wisconsin, the Cassin's Kingbird on Long Island, Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher in nw Florida, the overall Buff-breasted Sandpiper "mini-invasion," the THREE Arctic Warblers in southern California, Common Rosefinch on the Farallones, etc. But even in a mediocre year, there are always some great fall vagrants found. AND, in many parts of North America, the BEST time for far-flung rarities is the last week of October and first half of November; so we haven't even quite gotten to prime time yet!

--Paul Lehman