Category Archives: Migration

Birdsong to Sooth Your Day

April 17, 2026Migration, VocalizationsKate St. John

video embedded from Lesley the Bird Nerd on YouTube

17 April 2026

Do you need a break from stress and pressure? This 4-minute video will sooth your day.

Listen to the special songs we hear in southwestern Pennsylvania in mid-April as migratory birds sing on their way north. Recorded by Lesley the Bird Nerd in late May or very early June 2025 in Ontario, Canada, the singers have arrived at their destination. (Note: American crow is always here; bluejay is silent in the video.)

I used Merlin to confirm the songs and listed the species’ current status in our area.

White-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) — about to depart
Black-throated green warbler (Setophaga virens) — early birds have just arrived
Ruby-crowned kinglet (Corthylio calendula) — they’re here and loud!
Yellow-rumped warbler (Setophaga coronata) — early birds have just arrived
Red-breasted nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) — all are gone, except for a couple of individuals
American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) — always here

Note that Merlin does not acknowledge songs that “cannot occur” at the location where it is listening so there may be additional birds that I cannot hear and Merlin is ignoring.

Bonus information:

Why is birdsong so soothing? See 5 reasons why.

For instance, a study in 2022 investigated the effect of urban (traffic noise) vs. natural (birdsongs) soundscapes on mood, anxiety, paranoia.

295 participants were exposed to one out of four conditions for 6 minutes: traffic noise low, traffic noise high, birdsong low, and birdsong high diversity soundscapes. Before and after the exposure, participants performed a [cognitive] task and filled out depression, anxiety, and paranoia questionnaires. The traffic noise soundscapes were associated with a significant increase in depression… Concerning the birdsong conditions, depression exclusively decreased after exposure to the high diversity soundscape. Anxiety and paranoia significantly decreased in both birdsong conditions [low and high].
— Nature: Birdsongs alleviate anxiety and paranoia in healthy participants

Who’s Singing Now?

April 16, 2026Migration, VocalizationsKate St. John

Ruby-crowned kinglet showing his ruby crown, April 2022 (photo by Christopher T)

16 April 2026

Who’s singing now? In mid April we hear the usual suspects — American robin, northern cardinal, house finch, song sparrow — but there are new additions to the soundscape.

Ruby-crowned kinglets (Corthylio calendula) are passing through for a couple of weeks on their way to their breeding grounds in Canada.

Ruby-crowned kinglet range map (from Wikimedia) Orange=breeding, yellow=migration, blue=winter, purple=resident

They’re almost hyper-active as they flit and flutter to glean insects, making “jit” contact calls and pausing to belt out their rolling song. Sometimes they sing when challenging another kinglet, in which case they both raise their ruby crowns (photo at top).

Did you know that ruby-crowns are not closely related to other the kinglets? In 2021 they were moved to a genus of their own.

Chipping sparrows (Spizella passerina) are back in town and singing their dry, rapid trill from prominent perches in the trees.

Chipping sparrow, Ontario in spring (photo from Wikimedia)

When you hear the song, look for a sparrow with a rusty cap, eyeline and clear breast. He’s smaller than a song sparrow.

Eastern towhees (Pipilo erythrophthalmus) leave southwestern Pennsylvania for the winter so it’s a sure sign of spring when we hear “che-wink” and “Drink Your Teaeeeeee” coming from the thickets.

Eastern towhee in April (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

The male towhee perches prominently when he sings. The female tends to skulk.

Their songs may have regional accents. The recording by Aidan Place in 2020, below, is typical of the rapid condensed song we hear at Frick Park. It’s different from the one in Ontario above.

Some northern flickers (Colaptes auratus) are here year round but they’re not noticeable until spring when they hammer loudly and call like a “Jungle Bird.”

Closeup of northern flicker, 2009 (photo by Cris Hamilton)

Loud is Good. Metal is the best.

video embedded from PacificNorthwestKateCA on YouTube

p.s. The flicker in the video looks different from ours because he’s the red-shafted subspecies found in western North America. (This one is in Vancouver, BC, Canada.) The top of the bird is similar to our yellow-shafted flicker except for face and red moustache. However the underside is red where ours are yellow. Click here to see.

Migration Looks Good Tonight, New Birds Tomorrow!

April 8, 2026Migration, Water and ShoreKate St. John

8 April 2026

Tonight’s weather looks encouraging for bird migration over southwestern Pennsylvania. BirdCast’s forecast map shows them streaming from Texas to upstate New York along the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys. Oh boy! We’ll see new birds tomorrow.

The expected woodland migrants are the same species as last week, but with one addition. Fox sparrows and golden-crowned kinglets are on their last big push through the area, the warblers are here to breed, and the blue-headed vireo is not expected yet but has already arrived in Pittsburgh’s East End.

Other expected migrants include horned grebes and 7 duck species — lesser scaup, ring-necked duck, hooded merganser, red-breasted merganser, blue-winged teal and bufflehead. This year most of the ducks are passing through without stopping, so I felt lucky to see a pair of buffleheads at Duck Hollow yesterday.

Bufflehead pair (photo by Bobby Greene, photographed in 2011)

Check out Birdcast’s Migration Dashboard for Allegheny County for statistics and the ever-changing list of expected birds.

Woodland Birds Expected This Week

April 2, 2026MigrationKate St. John

Louisiana waterthrush, early April 2020 (photo by Steve Gosser)

2 April 2026

Now that it’s early April a whole new set of birds is expected to arrive on migration. Here are three woodland birds to look for this coming week.

Louisiana waterthrushes (Parkesia motacilla), pictured at top, first arrived in southwestern Pennsylvania on Monday 30 March, basically right on time. They were reported in at least seven locations 30-31 March but eBird considers them “rare” until 1 April so all of those March sightings generated Rare Bird Alerts.

Watch for a sparrow-sized bird with bubblegum pink legs that walks along the edges of babbling creeks. While it walks it keeps its tail cocked up and bobs the back end of its body as well as its tail. Listen for its song; click here to watch it singing.

Yellow-throated warblers (Setophaga dominica) aren’t here yet but it’s only a matter of days. They were reported in Bridgeport and Elkins, West Virginia on 30-31 March. Look for them high in sycamore trees along creeks and rivers. Unlike most warblers this one stays high in the trees and walks the largest branches. It is relatively slow moving compared to an American redstart, but then redstarts are almost frantic.

Yellow-throated warbler, May 2022 (photo by Steve Gosser)

Not really new but easier to find this week, a handful of golden-crowned kinglets (Regulus satrapa) have been in southwestern Pennsylvania all winter but the first big push of migrants arrived in the third week of March, around the time of the Spring Equinox. This week the Merlin app hears a golden-crowned kinglet whenever I’m out birding (I can’t hear them.)

Golden-crowned kinglet (photo by Steve Gosser)

A Million Snow Geese in Illinois, Count is Down at Middle Creek

March 24, 2026Migration, Water and ShoreKate St. John

Snow geese take off from Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge near Havana, IL, 7 March 2021 (photo by Joe K. Gage via Wikimedia)

24 March 2026

Snow goose migration is a huge spectacle in February and March along the Illinois River from Havana north to Peoria. Numbers have grown as the migratory population concentrates at Emiquon and Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuges.

eBird: Snow goose locations in Illinois River watershed, Havana IL to Peoria IL, 1 Feb to 22 Mar 2026

Here’s the count of just one flock on the lake at Chautauqua NWR on 27 Feb 2026 at 12:24pm. This does not include all the other flocks feeding in the fields and resting at Emiquon.

500,000 Snow Goose (Anser caerulescens). Huge and loud flock – Winks’ Estimate – he counted by 10k then got to 100k and then 5x that. Still a likely underestimate because many were coming in and not many leaving.
— Species comment on Pete Fenner ebird checklist, 27 Feb 2026, 12:24pm

The spectacle was so huge that it made Chicago news.

video embedded from WGN News Chicago on YouTube

There was a time when I used to go to Pennsylvania’s Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area every spring to see the snow goose spectacle when 100,000 snow geese would rise from the lake all at once. At its peak Middle Creek Wildlife counted 200,000 snow geese in February 2018.

But lately the count there has been going down. This year’s peak was 65,000 snow geese around February 24-25. Middle Creek’s migratory population has decreased for several reasons, one of which is intentional.

Intentional hunting to reduce the snow goose population. In 2009 the count of snow geese in the Atlantic Flyway was 750,000 to 1,000,000 birds and their overpopulation was damaging their food supply on the breeding grounds. US Fish & Wildlife instituted a hunt in the migratory areas, including Pennsylvania, to reduce the snow goose population to 500,000 birds.
Overpopulation: Degraded food supply on the breeding grounds may be reducing gosling numbers.
Avian flu has been killing a lot of snow geese (read more here).

At this point it looks like the snow goose total in the Atlantic Flyway has reached 500,000. If so, the hunt will stop.

Snow goose numbers ebb and flow. A low count in PA isn’t bad when there are 10 times that number in Illinois.

Songs to Look Forward to

March 13, 2026Migration, VocalizationsKate St. John

Fox Sparrow at Frick Park, 12 Mar 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)

13 March 2026

Spring songbird migration has barely begun but some sparrows already arrived. Here are 15 sparrow songs to look forward to.

Pittsburghers: My table below the video tells you when they’ll arrive in southwestern Pennsylvania. Fingers crossed for a fox sparrow soon.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Navarre Marshall (@navarres.wild.shots)

video#	Species	Occurrence in southwestern PA	Present in SW PA as of 12 Mar 2026?
1	Song Sparrow	Resident	yes. present and singing
2	White-throated Sparrow	Migrates through in spring & fall	yes and singing
3	White-crowned sparrow	unusual. Migrates through in small numbers in May	not yet
4	Field sparrow	Found in grasslands, not suburbs or cities	not yet
5	Dark-eyed junco	Migrates through in spring & fall	yes and singing
6	Bachman's sparrow	no. in southeastern US. Near Threatened	---
7	Chipping sparrow	Breeds in SW PA. Arrives in April	not yet
8	Fox sparrow	Migrates through in spring & fall	Expected any day now
9	Grasshopper sparrow	Found in grasslands, not suburbs or cities	not yet
10	Black-throated sparrow	-- not here. Seen in western and southwestern U.S	---
11	Eastern towhee	Breeds in SW PA. Arrives in late March, April	Expected soon
12	Green-tailed towhee	-- not here. Seen in western and southwestern U.S	---
13	Spotted towhee	-- not here. Seen from west coast to Illinois	---
14	Rufous-winged sparrow	-- not here. Seen from southern Arizona to western Mexico (not in Baja)	---
15	Lincoln's sparrow	unusual. Migrates through in small numbers in May	not yet

Expecting Spring: Then and Now

March 12, 2026Migration, Phenology, Plants & FungiKate St. John

Snowdrops photo by Kate St. John | Red-winged blackbird photo from Wikimedia

12 March 2026

Phenology is the study of the times when natural phenomena recur throughout the year.

At the beginning of this century, before the Internet was so accessible, Chuck Tague wrote a bi-monthly paper newsletter called The Nature Observer News that listed outings, nature club meetings, and what to expect outdoors in the upcoming half of the month.

In 2008-2009 I collaborated with Chuck to post a phenology for Western Pennsylvania based on his articles in The Nature Observer News. He created the lists about 20 years ago from his observations at the time. Since then our climate has gotten warmer and some nature events occur earlier than they used to, enough to jog them a half-month.

Thinking about what you’ve seen in recent weeks, have any of these nature events moved backward to a prior half-month? Are they all on time this spring?

I’ve marked the differences I’ve seen with an (X) and descriptions at the end.

Maple trees with sugar pails (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Phenology (20 years ago) for LATE FEBRUARY

Ice melts in the lakes.
Ducks, swans and geese fly north.
Maple sugaring time begins.
Turkey vultures return, just one or two at first. (X)
Skunk cabbage pokes its head out of the snow.
European Starlings become glossy and their beaks turn yellow for spring.
The days are getting longer. By the end of February the sun sets after 6:00pm.

Common grackles and red-winged blackbirds flock (photo by Nancy Magnusson via Flicker Creative Commons license)

Phenology (20 years ago) for EARLY MARCH

Noisy flocks of red-winged blackbirds.
First of the Year common grackles. (X)
Large flocks of robins sing at dusk and dawn for about two weeks.
Intensive peregrine falcon courtship.
First flowers in gardens: Snowdrops, crocuses, forsythia (X)
Mud Season: switch from snow boots to mud boots.
Jacket Weather (instead of the winter coats) (X)

Coltsfoot at Barking Slopes, 25 March 2025 (photo by Kate St. John)

Phenology (20 years ago) for LATE MARCH

Migrating ducks, geese and tundra swans on local lakes. (X)
Tree swallows, eastern phoebes and eastern bluebirds arrive.
Garden flowers and trees: Daffodils, tulips, ornamental cherry.
Woodland flowers: coltsfoot, harbinger of spring, snow trillium
Skunks and groundhogs are getting active
Peregrine falcons lay eggs and begin incubation.
American woodcocks “peent” and twitter in their aerial mating dance. (X)
Spring peepers and wood frogs are singing and mating. (X)

Changing Expectations of Spring: Then and Now

Here are the discrepancies I’ve seen in the past few weeks.

I saw a turkey vulture on 10 February at Emsworth Dam. This was a half-month early but I didn’t think much about it because I thought they stayed in that area of the Ohio River all winter.
First of the Year common grackles came back in late February. They did not wait for early March.
Jennifer Zimmerman commented that the first sighting this year of crocus in my Moon Twp yard was 2/21 and several bees on the crocus 2/28. Crocuses were early by a half month.
We skipped Jacket Weather for summer clothes on 7 March when the high went up to 78°F.
Migrating ducks and tundra swans arrived at Yellow Creek State Park on 28 Feb and in the first week of March. Moraine State Park had waterfowl on 1 March.
American woodcocks were here doing their sky dance in early March. However they dance for at least a month so it may be that the phenology is pointing out their later dances.
Spring peepers and wood frogs began singing in early March (as reported by friends). They did not wait until the second half of the month.

Celebrating Turkey Vultures!

March 11, 2026Birds of Prey, MigrationKate St. John

Turkey vultures at the roost (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

11 March 2026

In case you haven’t noticed, turkey vultures have begun migrating north to their summer breeding grounds. At first there were just one or two but their numbers are growing now that the snow is gone and the ground has thawed.

Turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) originated in South America, then expanded into North America. They leave our area in autumn because winter has two big disadvantages: there are no rising thermals to help them fly, and frozen meat neither rots nor smells so their preferred food is hard to find. Nature’s Cleanup Crew goes south to dine on roadkill.

As you can see from their range map, they do not go far so it’s easy for them to come back earlier than other birds.

Their return is a trickle in late February but by mid-March their numbers have grown and it’s time to celebrate them in Hinckley, Ohio.

This Sunday 15 March is Hinckley Buzzard Day, held from 7:00am to 2:00pm at Hinckley Prep Academy, 1586 Center Road in Hinckley, Ohio.

This annual celebration dates back to 1957 when 9,000 visitors flocked to the township to see the buzzards return from their winter hiatus. The event includes an early bird hike, skits, songs, stories performed in tents or fields, displays, crafts, photos, contests, and other hikes. Don’t miss this rite of Spring. Learn about the legend that surrounds Buzzard Day and why so many buzzards and people come out in March.
— Ohio Traveler: Hinckley Buzzard Sunday

It also includes vultures in the wild and at least one on the glove from Medina Raptor Center. For more information visit the Hinckley Buzzard Day Facebook page.

Can’t make it to the festival this Sunday?

You’ll enjoy this book by Katie Fallon –> Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird.

Cover of Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird from Brandeis University Press.

Few animals have a worse reputation than the vulture. But is it deserved? With Vulture, Katie Fallon offers an irresistible argument to the contrary, tracing a year in the life of a typical North American turkey vulture.
— Vulture: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird from Brandeis University Press

p.s. Why are they called buzzards in Ohio when “buzzards” are species of hawks elsewhere in the world?

“Early settlers in the Americas used the word buzzard to refer to large, soaring birds, especially the turkey vulture. The name stuck, and so in North America especially, “buzzard” often refers to a vulture, not a hawk.” — Buzzard vs. Vulture: Different Names for the Same Bird?

It’s Time for a Woodcock Walk

March 3, 2026Migration, Nesting & CourtshipKate St. John

American woodcock in Bryant Park, 5 March 2022 (photo from Wikimedia Commons)

3 March 2026

The Shorebird of the Woods, the American woodcock (Scolopax minor), is back in Pennsylvania and putting on his nightly show for the ladies.

American woodcocks are among the first migrants to return north, even in late spring snow.

American woodcock in snow in Maine, March 2018 (photo from Wikimedia)

After the snow melts their cryptic plumage and mostly nocturnal lifestyle make them nearly impossible to see in their preferred habitat of second growth forest and shrubby fields. We wouldn’t know they are here except for their vocal and (dimly) visible courtship display.

On dry spring nights, American woodcocks gather in open areas at the edge of the woods to perform their mating ritual. The males perform a “sky dance” to attract the females while the ladies watch and choose. Depending on the size of the clearing, there may be more than one male woodcock displaying on the “dance floor.” Males are polygamous (more than one mate) so bigger would be better at their dispersed lek.

American woodcock at dusk in North Park, 4 Mar 2024 (photo by Steve Gosser)

In the hour after sunset and the hour before dawn, the male walks and pauses in a clearing calling “peent, peent, peent.” At some mysterious cue he stops “peenting” and flings himself into the sky, spiraling up hundreds of feet before circling back down to land where he started. His wings make a twittering sound on the way up, they chirp on the way down (audio below). And then he does it again.

Here’s the whole show, seen dimly in the dark.

video embedded from Jack Robbins on YouTube

See the woodcock’s sky dance for yourself at one of these Three Rivers Birding Club Woodcock Walks in the Pittsburgh area, March 10 through April 1.

Tuesday, March 10, 2026 at 7:00 PM – Woodcock Walk with Conor Tompkins at PennDOT Wetlands, South Fayette Twp near Boyce-Mayview Park. More info here.
Woodcock Walks with leader Tom Byrnes in Harmar Township, meeting at the same starting location as last year. More info here.
- Wednesday, March 18, 2026 at 7:00 PM
- Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 7:00 PM
- Wednesday, April 1, 2026 at 7:00 PM
These outings will be cancelled if it rains. Check Three Rivers Birding Club website and social media for updates.

One More Fun Fact: According to All About Birds: “Some males display at several singing grounds and mate with multiple females. The female often visits four or more singing grounds before nesting, and she may keep up these visits even while she cares for her young. The male gives no parental care, and continues to display long after most females have laid eggs.”

It’s time for a Woodcock Walk!

Warblers at Home in Costa Rica

February 8, 2026Costa Rica, Migration, TravelKate St. John

Prothonotary warbler at Magee Marsh, 2014 (phoot by Chuck Tague)

8 February 2026, Pittsburgh

When this morning dawned at -6°F (-21.1°C) it was hard to imagine spring but I really want to. What better way to “Think Spring” than to talk about warblers?

Last month on the Road Scholar birding trip to Costa Rica we saw 15 species of warblers, the majority of which (8) were northern migrants spending the winter in Costa Rica. The rest (7 species) are residents of Central and South America and many of them are related to North American breeding warblers.

North American migrant warblers seen in Costa Rica, January 2026

In just 2-3 months — in late April and early May — warblers currently in Costa Rica will start arriving in Pittsburgh. Six of the species we saw look the same year round so they were at their best. The most numerous warbler on our trip, the Tennessee warbler, as well as the bay-breasted warbler were still in non-breeding plumage. They didn’t look as snazzy.

See the list and links below the slideshow.

Central and South American resident warblers

The other seven species on our checklists are residents of Central and South America. Just one reaches into North America as far as Mexico. See the list below the slideshow.

Best warbler on the trip? Prothonotary! We often saw them when touring the mangrove and wetland forests by boat. They were a bright flash of yellow as they flew across the river in front of us.

p.s. Speaking of low temperatures, Pittsburgh will have an amazing warm-up starting tomorrow, Monday 9 Feb 2026, at 7:00am. The low at 7:00am Monday will be -6°F. The high at 2:00pm on Tuesday will be 44°F. That’s a 50 degree temperature swing in just 31 hours. It will feel like Spring!