Your Guide To

Spring migration

Spring Migration is how many of us are drawn into Bird Watching. If this is your 1st year of you're 100th, enjoy this guide to help you identify what you're spotting!

How to use this guide

This guide is not meant to be exhaustive. These are all the birds I’ve been able to document, and I most certainly haven’t seen them all.

This guide doesn’t include many of our larger birds. Raptors, waterfowl, and wading birds can all be found elsewhere on this website. This guide is to help you out while walking around our parks during Spring Migration with Passerines— perching birds, including songbirds and the more silent types!

Remember, birds often have a several of colors (even the Yellow Warbler). So start with the main color you notice, and go from there! And if you’ve got no clue, thats a place to start too.

WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BIRD?

YELLOW
YELLOW
BLUE
BLUE
RED
RED
BLACK & WHITE
BLACK & WHITE
BROWN
BROWN
DON'T KNOW
DON'T KNOW
  • Palm Warbler. Yellow body, brown wings, and a red cap!

    Palm Warbler

  • Pine Warbler- Mostly yellow, silver/grey wings with white bars

    Pine Warbler

  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet is predominantly gold with yellow and black wings and a bright red mark on their head.

    Ruby-crowned Kinglet

  • Prairie Warbler- Mostly Yellow, brown back with dark chest striping

    Prairie Warbler

  • Hooded Warbler- Mostly Yellow with a black hood

    Hooded Warbler

  • Prothonotary Warbler has a bright yellow body with grey wings and a jet black beak and eyes.

    Prothonotary Warbler

  • Northern Parula is mostly blue and while, but has a yellow chin and breast

    Northern Parula

  • Yellow Warbler-- true to name, almost entirely yellow with some rust chest stripes

    Yellow Warbler

  • Common Yellowthroat- Yellow belly, brown back, black mask with a white stripe.

    Common Yellowthroat

  • Mostly yellow, greyish wings and tail, with a black cap

    Wilson's Warbler

  • Cedar Waxwing- Mostly Tan with a yellow lower body

    Cedar Waxwing

  • BTGW- Mostly black and white, but with a bright yellow mask

    Black-throated Green Warbler

  • Red-eyed Vireo is mostly gold and pale yellow

    Red-eyed Vireo

  • Nashville Warbler- Pale yellow with a Grey-blue cap and a white eye ring

    Nashville Warbler

  • Cape May Warbler- Lots of yellow with black spotting and red facial patches

    Cape May Warbler

  • Canada Warbler- Yellow Underside with a blue-grey back and a spotted necklace

    Canada Warbler

  • Blue -headed Vireo has a blue head with while eye rings, a yellow underside, and golden wings.

    Blue-headed Vireo

  • Blue-gray Gnatcatcher is as described, with a white eye ring

    Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

  • White-breasted Nuthatch as a blue-grey back, dark cap, and white face/belly

    White-Breasted Nuthatch

  • Tree Swallows are a bright metallic blue with while undersides.

    Tree Swallow

  • Belted Kingfishers are mostly blue with white collars and chests. Females have rufous markings

    Belted Kingfisher

  • Indigo Buntings are a deep, vibrant blue with black beaks and wings.

    Indigo Bunting

  • Black-throated Blue Warblers have blue backs, black faces, and white & black bellies

    Black-throated Blue Warbler

  • Blue-winged Warblers are mostly yellow, with blue/grey wings and black beaks

    Blue-winged Warblers

  • Northern Parula is mostly blue and while, but has a yellow chin and breast

    Northern Parula

  • Great Crested Flycatchers are a combination of many colors-- with a blue/brown head, yellow belly, and reddish brown wings.

    Great Crested Flycatcher

  • Canada Warbler- Yellow Underside with a blue-grey back and a spotted necklace

    Canada Warbler

  • Blue-headed vireos have a blue head with white eye rings, a yellow body, and golden wings.

    Blue-headed Vireo

  • Northern Cardinal has a red overall color with black mask and orange beak

    Northern Cardinal

  • American Robin has a grey back and wings, white eye ring, and a pale orange chest.

    American Robin

  • Red-bellied woodpecker has a red cap, zebra-like back and wings, and a creamy underside with light red markings

    Red-bellied Woodpecker

  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet is mostly gold but sports a bright red spot on their head.

    Ruby-crowned Kinglet

  • Scarlet Tanager has a bright red body, black wings, and a golden beak

    Scarlet Tanager

  • Rose-breasted Grossbeack has a black head, white body, and a scarlet chest patch.

    Rose-breasted Grossbeak

  • Summer Tanager has a bright red body and wings, with a golden beak.

    Summer Tanager

  • Purple Finch has a purple-red hue, with darker wings and a lighter underside

    Purple Finch

  • American Redstart has a mostly black body with orange highlights and a white underside

    American Redstart

  • Bay-breasted warbler has a rusty cap and chest with cream colored body and grey/black wings

    Bay-breasted Warbler

  • Red-breasted Nuthatch as blue-gray wings and cap,. white throat, and rust orange underside

    Red-breasted Nuthatch

  • Great Crested Flycatchers are a combination of many colors-- with a blue/brown head, yellow belly, and reddish brown wings.

    Great Crested Flycatcher

  • Eastern Towhee has a rusty or black head and back, white accents, and an orange underside.

    Eastern Towhee

  • Baltimore Oriole has a black head and wings with a bright orange body.

    Baltimore Oriole

  • Yellow-rumped Warbler is predominantly grey and white with black and yellow patches

    Yellow-rumped Warbler

  • House Sparrow has brown wings and head with grey cheeks and a black mask that extends down to the chest

    House Sparrow

  • Hairy Woodpecker has striking black and white patters overall, with a longer beak than the Downy

    Hairy Woodpecker

  • Black & White Warbler has alternating black and white stripes along its entire body

    Black & White Warbler

  • Black-throated Green Warbler has a yellow head with black markings and strong black & white striping across its wings and body.

    Black-throated Green Warbler

  • Blackburnian Warbler has thick black and white stripes across its wings and back with a black and orange head

    Blackburnian Warbler

  • Rose-breasted Grossbeack has a black head, white body, and a scarlet chest patch.

    Rose-breasted Grossbeak

  • Magnolia Warbler has strong black, white, and grey coloration along its back with yellow and black on its underside

    Magnolia Warbler

  • Chestnut-sided Warbler has strong black-and-white markings on face and body with rusty side marks and a yellow cap.

    Chestnut-sided Warbler

  • Blackpoll Warbler has a black back, scattered black and white markings across the body, and slight yellow highlights

    Blackpoll Warbler

  • Brown Tree Creeper has a speckled brown back with a white underside

    Brown Treecreeper

  • House Sparrow has brown wings and head with grey cheeks and a black mask that extends down to the chest

    House Sparrow

  • Carolina Wren has a dark brown back, lighter brown underside, and a cream bib

    Carolina Wren

  • Eastern Phoebe has a grey/brown back and head with a white underside and black beak.

    Eastern Phoebe

  • Louisiana Waterthrush has a brown back and cap with white head markings, and a speckled underside

    Louisiana Waterthrush

  • Hermit Thrush as a brown back and cap with a rusty tail and specked chest

    Hermit Thrush

  • Ovenbird has a light brown back and wings with an orange crown and a speckled underside

    Ovenbird

  • Rough-winged Swallow has brown back and wings, with a pale underside.

    Rough-winged Swallow

What did I just see?

Congrats! You’re officially a bird watcher, or “birder”. It doesn’t take fancy binoculars or a big camera— just being curious about the world around you. Birding opens the door to noticing nature in a deeper way, and connecting yourself to the planet that nurtures us.

So how do you get better? There’s no substitute for time and practice, but remember a couple of important things:

-Spring Migration is a great place to start because there are a lot of bright colors to catch your eye. Once you can confidently describe the color and pattern of a bird, you’re off to the races.

-Habitats Matter. Once you know start to notice where certain kinds of birds congregate, you’ll stop looking for Palm Warblers in tree tops or swallows in the deep woods.

-Everyone has a song to sing. Tools like Merlin will help you start to learn bird calls, meaning you can find even more with your ears than with your eyes alone.

Now get out there and BIRD!