Orioles return

May is here and so are the birds. Orioles, barn swallows, loons and bald eagles are among the species that are back to summer breeding grounds across much of North America, and the reports and photos have been flowing in.

Those at northern latitudes may still be waiting on their first sightings of orioles, so keep your reports and photos coming! You can submit them by clicking here. 

Orioles

It was a huge week for Baltimore oriole reports across the eastern and midwestern United States, as well as southern Canada.

Around Journey North’s home base in Madison, Wisconsin, there were nine reports in the county between April 29 and May 1, including from Jeffrey, Elizabeth and Joanne in Madison, Craig in Middleton, Thomas in Fitchburg, Jane in Cottage Grove and Thomas in DeForest.

Northwest of Madison in Loganville, Wisconsin, Kim wrote, “We saw 4. A female was here as well! So happy they are back!”

Kim was not the only one excited to have orioles back in the Midwest. “We have been waiting for this day. We could hear him before we could see him,” Robin in Mears, Michigan reported on April 28.

These are just a few of the plethora of beautiful oriole photos and great reports that have been flowing in to Journey North. You can view more of them on our oriole sightings map here.

Western birders have also started to spot Bullock’s orioles recently. Kammi in Garden City, Kansas submitted a photo of one at a feeder on April 30, stating that a Baltimore oriole had also been spotted that day.

Reports were also received from Robert in Emmett, Idaho on April 25, Kathleen in Windy Hills, Colorado on May 1, Pat in Parker, Colorado on May 1 and Jo in Fallon, Nevada on May 1.

Barn swallows

Barn swallows are back to create their signature mud nests for the season. Mike in Ruthven, Iowa reported a first sighting of one on April 30 in a familiar spot:

“Had a big rainstorm this afternoon. Our first barn swallow flew right in and landed. They have nested there the last 5 years. Goldfinches showed up today also.”

Ken in Lethbridge, Alberta reported two barn swallows among the tree swallows on April 19:

“I was birding at Elizabeth Hall Wetlands in Lethbridge this afternoon and was watching 8 Tree Swallows feeding over the water. I was very surprised to see Barn Swallows and was able to capture some pictures while one of the swallows was resting. This is quite early for a Barn Swallow and eBird flagged it as rare for this time of year.”

Martina in Ogden, Utah reported three barn swallows on April 14 along with some other spring returnees:

“3 Swallows sighted. 19 Celsius, slight wind, sunny. Mosquitos started appearing about a week ago.”

Loons

One of the north’s iconic species, loons continued their journeys north throughout April. We received reports from central Saskatchewan on April 22 and 30 from Carola and Russell, respectively. Russell in Melville, Saskatchewan, a little further south, submitted several photos on April 18.

Also on April 18, Rick reported a sighting from Lake Park, Minnesota and Tracy reported one in North Bay, Ontario:

“Was driving by and spotted 1 loon preening then another one popped up beside it. My husband spotted one loon on 4/12/24 in the same spot. Ice just went off a couple days prior.”

Kimmy reported a solitary loon on March 29 in Lake City, Michigan.

In the northeast, reports came in from late March into mid-April. On March 30, Debi in Southwest Harbor, Maine reported three loons and wrote:

"Ice out on this pond was March 4, 2024. Most Mount Desert Island loons winter in the adjacent Frenchman's bay. They share the territory with Red Throated loons and a variety of gulls, ducks, grebes, herons and various water birds."

Of 20 reports from New Hampshire this spring, the first was from Maria in Nottingham on March 19, continuing until a report from Meredith in Tuftonboro on April 20. Meredith submitted a photo and wrote, "This was the second time I saw the male; the first time was last week on Mirror Lake. The female had joined him when I took this pic on Mirror Lake."

Bald eagles

Many eagle reports came in by the end of the first week of April. On March 29, Russell sent in a photo of five eagles on fence posts from High River, Alberta.

However, some people got their first glimpses of bald eagles a little later in the month, with Laura writing on April 22 from Lakeshore, Ontario just across the border from Detroit:

“Was looking out the window at my birdfeeders while standing at the kitchen sink when I saw what I thought were Wild Turkeys off in the field. Grabbed my binoculars and found out that they were Turkey Vultures. Watched them eating a carcass for a while. They numbered eight at one point, the numbers went down to two and then those two left when a Bald Eagle showed up. I believe that a juvenile showed up shortly after that and then another adult. One adult seemed to dominate the carcass and wouldn’t share. Eventually, it went down to only one adult. This transpired over the course of about an hour between 14:00 and 15:00 approximately. I have lived here for 30 years and I have never seen a Bald Eagle near my property before. Turkey Vultures regularly nest in the woods just to the west of here.”

Red-winged blackbirds

Red-winged blackbirds made their way north throughout spring, with Journey North’s northernmost first sighting coming from Margot in Grande Prairie, Alberta on April 20.

Other fairly northern locations in the United States saw red-winged blackbirds return throughout the month of March and even in February in some cases.

Gert in Gowganda, Ontario reported an estimated 40 red-winged blackbirds on March 31, writing, “A large flock of Red wings descended this afternoon. Very noisy!”

Continued reporting 

Keep your sightings coming as birds and monarch butterflies continue to make their way north. Report your sightings and bird activity throughout the year.