FALL MIGRATION - FIRST STOP, JERICHO!!

Every birder we know remembers his or her first experience with the scope and sheer size of migration. We can read that between three and four billion birds fly over the U.S. every spring and summer, but it takes a particular incident to bring that statistic to life. For many, it’s the huge flocks of Snow Geese in Addison VT. For others, it’s hawk watches on Mt. Philo or Putney Mountain or – even more amazing – someplace like Veracruz where tens of thousands of raptors pass overhead in just a few days. And for others, it’s a “fallout”, when hungry and exhausted birds hit a wall of wind or a storm and tumble out of the skies en masse, landing on ship railings, lawns, trees, houses and cars.

This fall, our own backyard has given us a hint of migration wonders. On August 31, we strolled outdoors for our morning “hello” to the gardens, and we immediately realized that this was no ordinary day. There was bird noise everywhere! 

We ran inside to get binoculars and a camera, and we spent the next two hours so excited that we didn’t even complain too much about the dreaded “warbler neck” from staring up into the trees. 

The most exciting – and initially baffling – bird was a male Scarlet Tanager, the first we’ve ever seen in our yard. 

He appeared to be molting and was a colorful mishmash of red, black, yellow and orange instead of a tanager's usual rich red body and jet black sides. 

(Except for the photos of this bird, all the others in this post were taken earlier. We were too stunned to get a lot of photos!) 

There were nine species of warblers, including the Common Yellowthroats that nested and fledged young in the wet part of the yard. 

These little cuties have visited us every morning since early May. They often hang out around the vegetable garden, apparently finding bugs.

We also had Chestnut-sided Warblers nest either on our property or right next door, and one or two showed up in the August 31 excitement.

One lone Black-and-white Warbler imitated a nuthatch as it looked for insects on tree trunks.

(photo by Tyler Pockett)

A small flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers gleaned in the old plum trees. (photo by Sheri Larsen)

The golden heads of Black-throated Green Warblers glowed as they hunted for bugs.

The name "Black-throated Green" really doesn't do justice to these handsome birds!

                             photo by Jane Ogilvie

A Tennessee Warbler was an unexpected thrill! 

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds whizzed from one patch of jewelweed to another. (This was the last day we saw the male. He must have departed for Central America the very next morning.)

That morning, we identified twenty-seven species of birds. Some (like Mourning Doves, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, chickadees and titmice) were year-round residents. Most, though, were southward-bound migrants. 

Migratory birds need a lot of food! Many birds that nested and raised young here in Vermont spend our winters in South or Central America. Some fly out over the ocean, nonstop, for an entire day or more. They spend weeks fattening up before starting out on their journeys, and they love both sugary fruits and protein-rich caterpillars.

The birds in our yard were active in two tall wild cherry trees, two old apple trees (apple trees are great for yummy caterpillars) and plum trees, and a big oak. (One oak can support over 300 species of caterpillars!)

Another migratory rush came through the yard on September 3, when we watched at least three Rose-breasted Grosbeaks chowing down on bugs and the few remaining nanny berries. Catbirds feasted on wild grapes, the Common Yellowthroat patrolled the veggie garden, and "our" Eastern Phoebe perched on dead branches and darted out into the yard after flying insects.

Back in the spring, we wrote about having to stay at home for birding because of the pandemic. We have found unexpected joy in backyard birding!

Enjoy fall migrating birds as well as our year-round resident birds! 

photos by Bernie, words by Maeve