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April is a favorite time for many bird watchers in North America, as there are spring migration festivals. For instance, many birders flock to High Island on the Texas coast to see the arrival of thousands of migrating birds. This organized event has a small fee, but is worth it for what you will see.
April is an excellent time of year to see the arrival of many of the migratory neotropical songbirds, including vireos, warblers, orioles, water thrushes, and tanagers. The birds often arrive first right on the coast after crossing the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Continue reading to learn more about some of the amazing birds you will see during April each year, especially the species you can find in the birding hotspots.
TIP: If you want to check out the best pair of binoculars for bird watching, we recommend a pair of waterproof and fog-proof 8 x 42 binoculars like the Celestron – Outland X 8×42 Binoculars (Amazon link).
What birds migrate in April?
The middle of April is the peak time for many birds returning to the continental United States during Spring migration. Conditions are warm enough that many species are well on their way back to the country. Most common and popular of the April migrants are the neotropical songbirds. These include myriads of warblers, vireos, orioles, tanagers, and water thrushes. You can also see buntings and grosbeaks.
Places like High Island, Texas, are where you can find many bird watchers and bird photographers, hoping to catch glimpses of some of these migrating birds as they first arrive in the coastal woods. It is not unusual to record as many as 30 species of warbler in one day along the Texas coast in April.
TIP: Knowing how to spot the birds in your yard is key to enjoying visits from your winged friends as much as possible! The best sources are trusted books, I recommend using the following (Amazon links):
– National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America
– National Audubon Society Birds of North America
There are a few rules or guidelines you should abide by as an ethical birder. These are listed below.
- Do not enter private lands without prior permission from landowners.
- Follow all the rules in refuges and reserves, including cleaning up any garbage from your campsite.
- Do not disturb birds on nests.
- Do not use apps and play songs to call up birds when they are hungry, tired, and breeding during spring and summer.
Cerulean Warbler
This is a pretty blue warbler that can be tricky to see as they like to be high up in a tree, in the canopy. The Cerulean Warbler is small (only about 4 inches), and can be hard to see among the leaves. However, your efforts will pay off if you do get to see this attractive little warbler.
These warblers spend the winter in South America, and head back to the United States in spring. They breed in the trees of mature deciduous forests. The bird breeds in the midwest where there are forested areas with trees suitable for them to nest in.
Yellow-throated Warbler
This is an equally attractive warbler, with a bright yellow throat, and gray, black and white coloring and markings on the rest of the body. These birds can be seen during migration. They prefer pine forests and swampy areas, and are often seen in migratory hotspots like High Island, Texas and in bushes and trees surrounding the bayous of Louisiana.
Blue-winged Warbler
This species is recognized by its bright yellow underparts and head, olive-gray back and wings and a black line marking in front of and behind the eye. You have a good chance of spotting these birds in the southern states like Texas and Louisiana during spring migration, in April.
They do breed further north though, from Tennessee northwards and extending as far west as the eastern parts of Kansas and Oklahoma. The species migrates at night and crosses the Gulf of Mexico.
Baltimore Oriole
The Baltimore Oriole is a stunning bird with bright orange and black markings. You can see these birds feasting on the fruit of mulberry trees, along the Texas coast in mid-April. These birds spend the cold winters down in Central America and parts of Florida. Their breeding range is quite vast; they breed from Louisiana up as far as Canada.
Their summer range is limited to the eastern half of the United States. Once they have arrived back in the United States, they make their presence known with their loud, liquid bubbling song. The males are the brightly colored of the two, while the female is a duller yellow color.
Orchard Oriole
This bird is a darker orange than the Baltimore Oriole, and it also feeds on fruit like mulberries. The Orchard Oriole resides in Summer on the eastern side of the U.S., and overwinters mainly in Central America and the northern reaches of South America. You can often find both species of oriole together, Orchard and Baltimore.
It is also worth noting that they do both visit feeders filled with fruits and jelly, so are commonly seen at places like Bentsen-Rio Grande in Texas. The woods at High Island have many mulberry trees that provide fruit for these birds.
TIP: Bird feeders and baths are great for attracting birds to your backyard. But what about bird houses? They will help you not only track but also keep them in your yard! Check out my picks on different bird houses below (Amazon links):
– Cedar Viewing House
– Wood Bird House with Pole
– Hanging Bird House
Tanagers
Summer and Scarlet Tanagers are gorgeous brightly colored songbirds that can be seen during migration in April. These birds will be seen in the trees along the coast, and they will move further north in time. Summer Tanagers remain in summer in the eastern part of the country including Texas and the eastern states, but not as far as the Great Lakes. This is their breeding range, while their wintering range is southern Mexico and Central America.
Scarlet Tanagers like to spend winter in the lowland forest of South America. This is where they can find lots of insects and can enjoy the warm conditions. They return in the spring to the eastern parts of the United States.
The bright colors of these birds make them stand out against the green tree foliage. They can be observed flitting between trees in places like High Island in mid-April. These birds are known to migrate at night, where they may join a mixed flock of migrating songbirds.
TOP TIP: Have you ever wondered where birds sleep and if they return to the same place every night? Read this article to find out. And how do birds remember where their nest is? Find out here!
Ovenbird
Ovenbirds are little warblers with striped heads. They can often be found low down in the understory, or even hopping on the ground searching for food. Similar to thrushes, they like to investigate leaf litter for small invertebrates that they can eat. Ovenbirds are long-distance migrants that breed in the mid-Atlantic area of the U.S. and then overwinter in Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
Waterthrushes
Both Northern Waterthrushes and Louisiana Waterthrushes may be spotted during April migration. These birds are types of wood warblers, even though they are called waterthrushes. They do act quite a bit like thrushes in that they like foraging on the ground and looking through leaf litter for invertebrates and insects to eat. It can be tricky identifying these two birds to species as they do look very similar.
What is a migration fallout?
A fallout during migration is when adverse weather conditions cause migrating birds to stop flying and move down into vegetation to rest and wait out the weather. This is a time when birds become exhausted and hungry, and many will be spotted. Often, if there is a big storm, you will suddenly see the woods full of a new set of birds than were present the day before.
This is something I have personally witnessed at High Island in April 2015. A storm came through and the next day, tanagers and orioles were all over the place. The day before the storm, orioles and tanagers were not present, although many warblers were.
Conclusion
April is arguably the optimal time to see spring migrants, especially the neotropical songbirds that arrive back in the United States after spending the winter south of the border in countries like Mexico, South America, and Central America. You can expect to see an assortment of warblers, vireos, orioles, waterthrushes, and tanagers arriving along the southern coastline of the Gulf of Mexico.
TIP: Choosing the right bird feeder is crucial when you want to attract birds on your backyard. There are a lot of options on how and where to place a bird feeder. Check out my picks on different bird feeders below (Amazon links):
– Free-standing Bird Feeder
– Hanging Bird Feeder
– Bird Feeder with Camera