THE MIGRATIONS OF LOCAL BIRDS

Previous

Our local bird life may be divided roughly into two parts: the Permanent Residents and the Transients. As Mr. Ludlow Griscom has said “It is idle to look for Warblers in January or Ducks in July.” We must know which of our birds are with us all the year and which visit us for a short time. The following is a list that will help us to tell when to look for different birds at different seasons.

A. Permanent Residents.

In general, the birds that are present during the months of November, December, January and February are to be found hereabouts during the entire year. These are the Crow, several of the Owls, the Song Sparrow, the Partridge, etc. However, we also have winter visitors, such as the Kinglets, the Brown Creeper, the Snowbird and others that return to the north during the warm season of the year.

B. Spring Visitors.

1. March. During this month a gradual influx of birds is noticed. The following is a list of these bolder visitors.

(Feb. 15 to March 25)

Meadowlark

Rusty Blackbird

Red-winged Blackbird

Green-winged Teal

Kingfisher

Phoebe

Cowbird

Morning Dove

Purple Grackle

Fox Sparrow

Robin

Bluebird

Wood Duck

Killdeer Plover

Woodcock

2. April

(March 25 to April 12)

Pied-billed Grebe

Blue-winged Teal

Great Blue Heron

Wilson’s Snipe

Piping Plover

Osprey

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Vesper Sparrow

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Savannah Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Field Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

Tree Swallow

Yellow Palm Warbler

Pine Warbler

Hermit Thrush

(April 17 to 25)

Bittern

Black-crowned Night Heron

Clapper Rail

Virginia Rail

Towhee

Barn Swallow

Blue-headed Vireo

Black-and-White Warbler

Myrtle Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Louisiana Water Thrush

Brown Thrasher

(April 25 to 30)

Green Heron

Greater Yellowlegs

Spotted Sandpiper

Broad-winged Hawk

Whip-poor-will

Chimney Swift

Purple Martin

Cliff Swallow

Bank Swallow

Rough-winged Swallow

Yellow Warbler

House Wren

3. May: This is the best month of the year for observation work if a large list of birds is the thing desired. Birds are now coming northward with a rush, the peak of the migration season is reached, and it is possible to see over 100 species in a single day.

(May 2 to 7)

Solitary Sandpiper

Pigeon Hawk

Hummingbird

Kingbird

Crested Flycatcher

Least Flycatcher

Baltimore Oriole

Orchard Oriole

Grasshopper Sparrow

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Tanager

Warbling Vireo

Yellow-throated Vireo

White-eyed Vireo

Nashville Warbler

Blue-winged Warbler

Parula Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Prairie Warbler

Northern Water-thrush

Hooded Warbler

Northern Yellow-throat

Ovenbird

Redstart

Catbird

Wood Thrush

Veery

(May 9 to 12)

Acadian Flycatcher

Red-eyed Vireo

Worm-eating Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

Yellow-breasted Chat

Olive-backed Thrush

Magnolia Warbler

Canadian Warbler

(May 10 to 14)

Nighthawk

Bobolink

White-crowned Sparrow

Lincoln’s Sparrow

Golden-winged Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Cape May Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler

Wilson’s Warbler

Long-billed Marsh Wren

Gray-checked Thrush

(May 15 to 26)

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Black-billed Cuckoo

Wood Pewee

Indigo Bunting

Cedar Waxwing

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Alder Flycatcher

Kentucky Warbler

Morning Warbler

4. June: The majority of the local birds are nesting during this month and the others have gone on to breeding grounds further north.

5. July: The breeding and the song seasons are now nearly concluded. The moulting has begun and the woods and fields are quiet in the warm sunlight.

C. AUTUMN TRANSIENTS: Among the first of the birds to leave for the South, the following may be noted:

1. August

(August 1 to 30)

Great Blue Heron

Sora Rail

Clive-sided Flycatcher

Golden-winged Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Cape May Warbler

Magnolia Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

Northern Water Thrush

Mourning Warbler

Wilson’s Warbler

Canadian Warbler

2. September: The Southward migration continues.

(September 1 to 10)

Nashville Warbler

Parula Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Connecticut Warbler

(September 10 to 30)

Wilson’s Snipe

Broad-winged Hawk

Pigeon Hawk

White-throated Sparrow

Palm Warbler

Olive-backed Thrush

Coot

Savannah Sparrow

Junco

Lincoln’s Sparrow

3. October: As the insects disappear when the frost arrives, so do the birds, that need this form of food, go Southward. Thus the weather is mainly responsible for the date on which the remaining species leave for the South. An accurate list is hardly possible.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Clyx.com


Top of Page
Top of Page