Migration is already well underway as we opened for the Spring season last week. We were greeted by west winds, warm temperatures, and a diversity of warblers at the site. Northern Parulas have been on the move since February, gathering in the flowering oaks that they love. Purple Martins and Swallow-tailed Kites have also arrived. Some of our wintering birds are on their way out. The first to leave seem to be Blue-gray Gnatcatchers; we never get to band any in spring and see the eyebrow the males sport in breeding season. We are getting to look at some Myrtle warblers, though. They are just beginning to molt into their breeding plumage, and this bird has black patches of feathers just starting to come in on the cheeks. They will leave our area before completing their molt, so we don’t get to see them at their finest.
Myrtle Warbler (photo by Michelle Davis)
The weather has been active the last week, with several weak fronts moving all the way down past the Keys and taking the humidity out of the air a little bit. The same wind directions that bring us birds in the fall also bring us birds in the spring; the west winds get them out to Cape Florida and the north winds make them want to land as soon as they get across the open water. A lot of birds are still wintering on the site, so we are recapturing these birds along with the migrants. Common Yellowthroats such as this male below can be either wintering or migrating right now, but all the Ovenbirds so far are wintering individuals banded in other seasons. The oldest bird so far is a female Northern Cardinal banded in 2018!
Male Common Yellowthroat (photo by Michelle Davis)
We have already banded three Swainson’s Warblers and recaptured a fourth banded in 2022. Several of these birds are over-wintering. This species was considered to leave North America completely during the winter, but records in the last few years (banding data and birder observations) show that a few are staying in Florida. We banded a record 62 Swainson’s Warblers in Fall 2022, so it is not too surprising that we are seeing a lot already coming back this spring.
Gray Catbirds are another common wintering species in Florida, and their mews are a familiar sound. The males will begin singing before they leave; a complex pretty song that incorporates other bird songs, but not as blatantly as their close relative the Northern Mockingbird.
Gray Catbird (photo by Miriam Avello)
