Day Length & Temperatures Slowly Increasing

Spring officially began on March 20! What birds are you seeing in your area? Remember to report your observations to Journey North this spring—and throughout the year.

Common loon in lake — Common Loon
Photo: Joni in Martinsville, IN (03/12/2023)

Journey North Species

Day length is slowly increasing and temperatures are rising. And while the pace of migration is still slow, that’s normal during the early stages of the spring season. Report your first observations of Red-winged Blackbirds, Baltimore and Bullock’s Orioles, Common Loons, and Barn Swallows, as well as Eagles, to Journey North.

Red-winged Blackbirds

Tedd in Monroeville, PA: “Been hearing them since the 18th along with the start of hearing Robins. On this day alot of RWb in the cattails. They were mostly down in the plants vs at the tips. Alot of position changes but far enough away I still haven’t seen the wing bar yet but plenty of their chatter…” (02/23/2023)

Heidi in Cedar Rapids, IA: “I live in the middle of Cedar Rapids, but happy to see this red-winged blackbird visit my feeders.” (03/02/2023)

Baltimore and Bullock’s Orioles

Linda in New Bern, NC: “First I’ve ever seen here!” (03/16/2023)

Beverly in Houston, TX: “Inmature male/female Bullock’s sighted up in River birch tree 10 a.m eating leaf buds. Wow early. Putting feeder out. (02/03/2023)

Common Loons

Joni in Martinsville, IN: “Common Loons typically stage here before moving northward. On 3/16/2023 there were four. Usually here into April. Likely depending on ice-out in the north.” (03/12/2023)

Barn Swallows

Saif in Germantown, TN: “4th year coming back to nest” (03/17/2023)

Eagles

Carroll in Bokeelia, FL: “… We think these are the same eagles who nested across the street from us for the past 15 years and lost their nest to hurricane Ian in September 2022.” (02/26/2023)

Andrea in Jones, OK: “2 adults and 3 eaglets” (03/04/2023)

Call for Photos

If possible, please include photos in your reports. Photos are always helpful; they aid in identification and shed light on behavior. However, birds are not always cooperative subjects. One potential workaround is to take a video and then extract a screenshot to use as a photo. Give it a try!

Learn more in the tutorials below: