Bay-breasted warbler, 13 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Cape May warbler, 13 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Common yellowthroat (female), 15 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Chestnut-sided warbler, 13 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Magnolia warbler, 13 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Nashville warbler, 13 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Northern parula, 13 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
16 May 2026
The second week of May is always wonderful for warblers, especially along Lake Erie’s southern shore at Magee Marsh, Ohio and Presque Isle, Pennsylvania. Shown above are just a few warbler highlights from Presque Isle this week.
Will this huge amount of bird traffic translate into a lot of birds today? I have two answers to this.
Not a lot of birds: It seems that high migration means birds pass over and don’t land *and* that birds we had yesterday decided to leave. Interestingly, the Flight Direction and Speed graph shows fewer birds in flight at 5am but those birds sped up as if they had a destination outside our county and they were running out of time.
Yes, many new arrivals? Could be … but see the update below.
What just happened? The only way to find out is to get outdoors.
UPDATE at noon on 13 May after a visit to Frick Park: Indeed most of the migratory birds left Frick Park and new ones did not arrive. News from friends who are birding at Presque Isle State Park and Magee Marsh Boardwalk say they suddenly have lots of warblers today.
Harris’s sparrows (Zonotrichia querula) breed in north central Canada and winter in the Great Plains but two individual birds out of range “Wowed” birders yesterday in both Pittsburgh and at Magee Marsh Boardwalk. (marked on the map with pink Xs)
Dan added many photos to his eBird checklist — I’ve embedded four below — and posted his find on the Allegheny County Rare Bird Alert at 2:46pm.
By sunset 34 eBirders had seen the bird. At one point 15 people were there to see it.
Meanwhile at Magee Marsh Boardwalk a Harris’s Sparrow attracted a huge crowd who jostled for a view. Chris Saladin posted her photo of the Ohio bird on Facebook under the title: Harris’s Sparrow and Considerate Birding (5-11-26).
Harris’s sparrow at Magee Marsh Boardwalk, 11 May 2026 (photo by Chris Saladin)
One good sparrow deserves another. I saw Lincoln’s yesterday. I’m going to look for the Harris’s sparrow today. Fingers crossed that it’s still there.
Update on 12 May at 12:45pm:
SUCCESS! I saw the Harris’s sparrow this morning at Southside Riverfront Park.
BONUS! ANOTHER RARE SPARROW: A clay-colored sparrow (Spizella pallida) is continuing (since yesterday) next to the Mister Rogers Memorial on the North Shore. Clay-coloreds are related to chipping sparrows. Here’s what one looks like, photo from Wikimedia.
A note about migration trends: Last night (11 May) bird migration out of Pittsburgh was suppressed by north and northeast winds (top map is purple in PA). Tonight migration will be intense (bottom map is yellow and orange) so I expect many birds to leave, maybe the Harris’s and clay-colored sparrows among them.
Lincoln’s sparrow, Sept 2023 (photo by Steve Gosser)
11 May 2026
Compared to the brightly colored warblers passing through this week, a Lincoln’s sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii) doesn’t attract a lot of attention but I’d dearly love to see one. I know they’re here because there were six reports scattered across Allegheny County yesterday including one bird at Schenley Park and three at Homewood Cemetery.
Even when they’re present they are hard to find and that’s part of their allure.
[Lincoln’s sparrow] often stays hidden under thick ground cover, but can be distinguished by its sweet, wrenlike song. … It lives in well-covered brushy habitats, often near water. This bird is poorly documented because of its secretive nature and breeding habits solely in boreal regions.
These dapper little birds are closely related to song and swamp sparrows. Lincoln’s sparrows have pink legs and wear buffy vests with thin brown stripes. Buffy + Thin Stripes are their defining feature. More ID info here.
Like boreal forest warblers, Lincoln’s sparrows are only seen in southwestern Pennsylvania for a few weeks during spring and fall migration — May and October.
I don’t remember ever hearing one sing but he sounds like a wren with a sore throat. Here’s one singing at Pawnee Lake State Recreation Area near Lincoln, Nebraska …
… and another singing at its breeding grounds in Newfoundland, Canada.
Fingers crossed I’ll see one today.
Looking, looking, looking … I search the ground among the leaf litter hoping to see movement in the dim light.
Hooded warbler in southwestern Pennsylvania (photo by Steve Gosser)
5 May 2026
Today we’re on our way to Magee Marsh, Ohio where we’ll be birding early before The Biggest Week in American Birding begins 8-17 May 2026. It truly is the “Biggest Week” as it draws 80,000 to 90,000 visitors to the area each year.
The colors on this eBird Hotspot map show why it’s such a popular birding place. The redder the color, the more species seen. The hottest spot of all (center of the map) is Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge in Ottawa County where 305 species have been recorded. Magee Marsh Boardwalk is close behind with 276 species.
Hooded warblers occur in northwestern Ohio (see my faint orange circle on the map below) but are more readily seen in western Pennsylvania (darker purple). They are rare at the Boardwalk because they prefer thick shrubby areas in forest understory, not open marsh habitat with sparse woodlots.
Some formerly rare birds are now more common. Prior to 2010 American white pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) were very rare flyover birds. Now they are present every year.
Their official range map (left) still has them absent east of the Mississippi but observations and breeding records show some in northwestern Ohio. American white pelicans now breed on Turning Point Island in Sandusky Bay and many stop over on their way to their breeding grounds in Canada (righthand map).
The forecast for northwestern Ohio calls for chilly cloudy weather and rain while we’re there. I might need this video “warbler fix” by the time I’m done. (I also posted this video last year.)
Tentworms starting up: Raccoon Creek Wildflower Reserve, 20 April 2026 (photo by Kate St. John)
29 April 2026
Nine days ago I saw the first tentworms on a small choke cherry tree at Raccoon Wildflower Preserve. Since then I expected tents to appear on many trees and am disappointed that they haven’t yet. When they do, yellow-billed cuckoos won’t be far behind.
Eastern tent caterpillars (Malacosoma americanum) are native moths whose mother lays a big batch of eggs on a host tree in the Rosaceae family. The tiny caterpillars form inside the eggs and overwinter until next spring when the tree starts to leaf out. The growing caterpillars emerge and build a communal tent where they shelter during the day. At night they come out to eat the leaves of their host — usually a cherry tree.
Tentworms on a choke cherry branch, 18 April 2015 (photo by Kate St. John)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo eating a tentworm, May 2014 (photo by Robert Greene, Jr)
The population of tentworms flutuates year to year — from not-so-much to “infestation” — and yellow-billed cuckoos take advantage of this. The cuckoos are nomadic and choose to nest in areas with hairy caterpillar outbreaks, according to the study Invasive Prey Impacts the Abundance and Distribution of Native Predators.
Other birds also take advantage of abundant tentworms. Baltimore orioles eat tentworms.
Balitmore oriole eating a tentworm, 15 May 2017 (photo by Donna Foyle)
Blue-gray gnatcatchers use the webbing to bind their nests together.
Blue-gray gnatcatcher gathering tentworm webbing for her nest, 26 April 2017 (photo by Steve Gosser)
If you have tentworms in your trees, be patient and let the birds get rid of them. Don’t poison the insects with pesticides lest you poison birds or deprive their nestlings of food.
Meanwhile I’m hoping to find more tentworms soon. Unfortunately the weather will be cold and rainy for the next three days including lows in the 30s. 🙁
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.
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.
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].
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
Fox sparrow (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Golden-crowned kinglet (photo by Steve Gosser)
Louisiana warbler (photo by Steve Gosser)
Yellow-throated warbler (photo by Steve Gosser)
Blue-headed vireo (photo from Wikimedia)
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)
Bay-breasted warbler, 13 May 2026 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
