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Three birds to look for in March and April
Early migrants are on the move in March and April. Here are three to watch for.
Contributed by Paul Kerlinger
Published: February 15, 2011
1. White-throated Sparrow
Like an invasion, an estimated 140 million White-throated Sparrows converge on northern and boreal forest nesting areas each spring. They typically commence their migration from the southern United States and the west coast in March and early April. They migrate nocturnally and travel relatively short distances each night. Finding White-throats during migration isn’t difficult. They come to feeders, and migrants likely mix with wintering birds that have not begun to migrate. Look for them on the ground, in brush, and near forest edges.
Photos:
White-striped adult in spring by Naturegirl99
Tan-striped adult in winter by Jim Chagares
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2. Franklin’s Gull
The migration of Franklin’s Gulls is more like that of Broad-winged and Swainson’s Hawks than other gulls. They travel in well-organized flocks, sometimes numbering more than 1,000 birds. And they use thermals to help them cover long distances. Their spring migration begins in March in Peru and Chile, peaks in late April on the Great Plains, and ends at marshes from South Dakota to Alberta. In spring, you can see them at central lakes and wetlands, such as Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma and Cheyenne Bottoms in Kansas.
Photos:
Adult in flight by Raymond Lee
Immature Franklin’s Gull by Joe Devine
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3. Varied Thrush
Starting in March, the beautiful Varied Thrush begins to migrate from coastal and interior wintering areas in the west toward nesting areas in coniferous forests from northern California to Alaska. Although most birds are short- to middle-distance migrants, it is likely that some thrushes do not migrate at all and that others simply migrate from valleys to mountains. Watch for them in spring along the Pacific coast searching for fruits, berries, and acorns in redwood and Douglas-fir forests, riparian areas, parks, gardens, and at bird feeders.
Photos:
Varied Thrush by 45revs
Four Varied Thrush pictures by MartinD
Varied Thrush in King Township, Ontario by Janice Melendez
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Our roaming thrush
For the most part, the three species featured above make fairly typical north-south migrations. But one, the Varied Thrush, can be counted on each year to show up far from its usual haunts, if only in small numbers. Rather than migrating in fall to the primary wintering range along the Pacific coast and in the interior forests of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California, a few birds fly southeast — and far. Some fly all the way to Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario, Maryland, or Maine. In fact, most states and provinces have recorded the species at least once.
Ornithologists who have studied the bird say the sightings aren’t random. Thrushes probably follow a southeasterly route from Alaska or western Canada toward the southern Rockies, the western Great Lakes, or the east coast. In fact, the regularity of the reports prompted the coordinators of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch in 1996 to write that the birds “are not vagrants but rather represent a widespread but sparse winter distribution.”
This winter, the pattern continued. Reports came from New Mexico, Colorado, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Ontario. Central Park in New York City recorded its second Varied Thrush ever, and in Cape May County, New Jersey, in the backyard of well-known birders and authors Clay and Pat Sutton, a male Varied Thrush turned up briefly on Christmas Eve — a first for the county. (See photo in "Birding Briefs.")
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