Published: 04/29/2022

Dear Journey North Readers,

The birds finally got a break. There has been a lot of movement across the country over the past week. The Louisiana coast was covered in birds of all varieties, with Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Baltimore Orioles, and Indigo Buntings being particularly numerous. Indeed, grosbeaks and orioles were seen over much of the eastern US, as southerly winds and clear skies allowed those and many other species to finally make good progress north. 

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Baltimore Orioles were seen in Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts, along with Eastern Wood-Pewees, White-eyed Vireos, Indigo Buntings, and Worm-eating Warblers. Some migrants even made it as far as Maine, with the sighting of their first Black-and-white-Warbler of the spring. Here in Tennessee, I led a birding trip over the weekend to a place called MacLellan Island, and it was loaded with Gray Catbirds and Palm Warblers. I also saw my first Blackpoll Warblers of the spring.

The Midwest was also very active, with catbirds, Wood Thrushes, Swainson’s Thrushes, and Prairie Warblers being common sights in Ohio, Illinois, and Nebraska. As in the east, some migrants made it farther north, with birders in Minnesota seeing their first Barn Swallows.

Migration was equally good out west. Many orioles were seen in Arizona and California, but they were Bullock’s Orioles instead of Baltimore. There was another influx of Lucy’s Warblers and Wilson’s Warblers, along with Yellow-breasted Chats, Swainson’s Thrushes, Warbling vireos, and Violet-green Swallows. Good weather helped to bring Common Yellowthroats into Oregon and some of those Swainson’s Thrushes made it up to Washington.

What does the coming week look like? Well, in a word, good! If you look at the weather map, there are a couple of fronts moving across the country, but they don’t have much rain with them and weak north winds behind them. This weather pattern will allow more birds to make their way north, so there should be lots of sightings and new arrivals over the next week. Spring migration is peaking right now in the southern US, and is just picking up in other places, so the weather is cooperating at just the right time! 

Take care.

David Aborn