BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 11, 2023
The normal early May flood of incoming birds has been mostly a trickle. Songbirds migrate into Maine in waves. Pine, yellow-rumped and palm warblers typically show up around the third weekend of April. This year, they were right on time. Eastern phoebes, ruby-crowned kinglets, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, tree swallows, northern waterthrushes and blue-headed vireos are usually right behind them. These were also on time. This week’s headwinds persuaded many migrants in the second wave to wait. A third wave of songbirds typically arrives during the second half of May. Many of these are traveling a longer distance, from Central America and South America. ~ Bob Duchesne