For the Birds: Spring lives up to the hype

Photo by Chris Bosak – A chestnut-sided warbler perches in the brush in New England, spring 2024.

It was one of the better spring migrations I’ve had in a long time. I got out there more than in previous years and visited a greater variety of places.

The big week, of course, was the visit to Erie, Pennsylvania, during the peak of the migration season. I was there for my niece’s wedding but arrived several days in advance of the event to stay with my brother and visit Presque Isle State Park, a birding hot spot. We saw over 70 species of birds over the three separate visits.

I also hit my local New England spots several times a week during migration, starting in late March and going into June. It’s always interesting to see how the spring migration starts with a trickle of very few species and peaks with several dozen species all moving through at once. 

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