03/13/2026
Week two migration update. The wave is building.
Arrived this week across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic:
- Eastern Phoebe — first flycatcher of the season, tail-pumping on fence posts, calling FEE-bee at dawn
- Tree Swallow — iridescent blue-green, checking nest boxes, aerial feeding on warm afternoons
- American Woodcock — sky dances underway anywhere the ground has thawed enough to probe for worms
- Common Grackle — iridescent black swarms hitting bird feeders, loud and unmistakable
Arriving next week, March 9 through 15:
- Eastern Bluebird — pairs forming, inspecting cavities and boxes. If you have a box, clean it before they arrive
- Osprey — arriving on southern and mid-Atlantic lakes, claiming cell towers, channel markers, and utility poles
- Fox Sparrow — big rufous sparrow, scratching leaf litter with both feet at once
- Brown-headed Cowbird — back early and already scouting nests to lay eggs in. They don't build their own — they drop eggs in other birds' nests and let the host raise the chick
Staging for late March:
- Louisiana Waterthrush — first warbler-adjacent arrival, streams and creek banks
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher — tiny, hyperactive, building its lichen-covered nest
- Barn Swallow — forked tail, needs mud for nest building and open buildings to nest inside
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet — massive song from a bird that weighs less than a nickel
By March 20, the composition of your yard changes weekly. By April 1, daily.
🐦 What to do this week:
- Keep feeders stocked — new arrivals are hungry and disoriented after overnight flights and your feeder might be the first food they find
- Clean nest boxes now if you haven't — bluebirds and tree swallows are inspecting this week and skip dirty cavities
- A shallow water source with a drip draws in migrants that skip feeders entirely
- Step outside twenty minutes after sunset and listen for woodcock peent calls from open fields — the sky dance season has about four weeks left
The early wave is here. The main wave is next 🌿
