Fall Songbird Migration - Albuquerque Bosque

MacGillivray's Warbler. Photo by Doug Brown.

Fall migration is now clearly in full swing. Large numbers of MacGillivray’s Warbler, Yellow Warbler, and Virginia’s Warbler are currently moving through the bosque. Wilson’s Warbler numbers are currently comparable to those of the three warblers mentioned above, but are small compared to the numbers that will be present in the bosque during the coming weeks. Orange-crown Warbler and Townsend’s Warbler are also moving through in relatively large numbers. Western Wood-Pewee numbers have greatly increased this week compared to earlier in the month. We undoubtedly undercount vireos in the bosque because they rarely vocalize during this time of year, but we have recorded three species so far this week. Warbling Vireos are regular right now, and we finally detected our first Plumbeous Vireos this week. Most exciting, however, is the detection of three Red-eyed Vireos over the past eight days, a species that is normally very rare in the bosque.