I bet you thought I was going to say May flowers didn’t ya!

With the beginning of May bringing in the initial bird migrants to our state, we revel at the prospect of what we have in store for us. Thankfully, they don’t come all at once!

The earliest species that arrive aren’t noticed right away unless you are paying attention. Birds such as Red Winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, and Turkey Vulture start arriving first.

After a couple of weeks, the earliest sparrows, like Song, White Throated, and Chipping, start showing up in force. Then the first occurrences of wood warblers show up. Pine, Yellow-Rumped, and soon after Palm Warblers fill the air with their Spring melodies.

Which now brings us to May and a frenzy of avian activity! The next 4 weeks are sweet chaos! Birds start arriving almost daily heading for their breeding grounds of choice. We watch weather fronts with anticipation and check bird migration websites such as Birdcast found here https://birdcast.info/migration-tools/live-migration-maps/ to track migrating movements.

Keep your eyes on the skies because in the coming weeks orioles, hummingbirds, shorebirds, and wood warblers will converge for an amazing birding experience!