Our local bird life may be divided roughly into two parts: the
_Permanent Residents_ and the _Transients_. As Mr. Ludlow Griscom has
said "It is idle to look for Warblers in January or Ducks in July." We
must know which of our birds are with us all the year and which visit us
for a short time. The following is a list that will help us to tell
_when_ to look for different birds at different seasons.
A. Permanent Residents.
In general, the birds that are present during the months of November,
December, January and February are to be found hereabouts during the
entire year. These are the Crow, several of the Owls, the Song
Sparrow, the Partridge, etc. However, we also have winter visitors,
such as the Kinglets, the Brown Creeper, the Snowbird and others that
return to the north during the warm season of the year.
B. Spring Visitors.
1. _March._ During this month a gradual influx of birds is noticed.
The following is a list of these bolder visitors.
(Feb. 15 to March 25)
Meadowlark
Rusty Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Green-winged Teal
Kingfisher
Phoebe
Cowbird
Morning Dove
Purple Grackle
Fox Sparrow
Robin
Bluebird
Wood Duck
Killdeer Plover
Woodcock
2. _April_
(March 25 to April 12)
Pied-billed Grebe
Blue-winged Teal
Great Blue Heron
Wilson's Snipe
Piping Plover
Osprey
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Vesper Sparrow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Savannah Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Tree Swallow
Yellow Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Hermit Thrush
(April 17 to 25)
Bittern
Black-crowned Night Heron
Clapper Rail
Virginia Rail
Towhee
Barn Swallow
Blue-headed Vireo
Black-and-White Warbler
Myrtle Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Louisiana Water Thrush
Brown Thrasher
(April 25 to 30)
Green Heron
Greater Yellowlegs
Spotted Sandpiper
Broad-winged Hawk
Whip-poor-will
Chimney Swift
Purple Martin
Cliff Swallow
Bank Swallow
Rough-winged Swallow
Yellow Warbler
House Wren
3. _May:_ This is the best month of the year for observation work if a
large list of birds is the thing desired. Birds are now coming
northward with a rush, the peak of the migration season is reached,
and it is possible to see over 100 species in a single day.
(May 2 to 7)
Solitary Sandpiper
Pigeon Hawk
Hummingbird
Kingbird
Crested Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Baltimore Oriole
Orchard Oriole
Grasshopper Sparrow
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Tanager
Warbling Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
White-eyed Vireo
Nashville Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Parula Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Northern Water-thrush
Hooded Warbler
Northern Yellow-throat
Ovenbird
Redstart
Catbird
Wood Thrush
Veery
(May 9 to 12)
Acadian Flycatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
Worm-eating Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Olive-backed Thrush
Magnolia Warbler
Canadian Warbler
(May 10 to 14)
Nighthawk
Bobolink
White-crowned Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Golden-winged Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Long-billed Marsh Wren
Gray-checked Thrush
(May 15 to 26)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo
Wood Pewee
Indigo Bunting
Cedar Waxwing
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Kentucky Warbler
Morning Warbler
4. _June:_ The majority of the local birds are nesting during this
month and the others have gone on to breeding grounds further north.
5. _July:_ The breeding and the song seasons are now nearly concluded.
The moulting has begun and the woods and fields are quiet in the warm
sunlight.
C. AUTUMN TRANSIENTS: Among the first of the birds to leave for the
South, the following may be noted: