Must Know Tips for Spring Birding

I like to think of spring as the Christmas for birders - it's the most wonderful time of the year! Migrating birds begin to return in their bright breeding plumage, ready to search for food, habitat, and a place to nest. There is so much to observe - from sights of mating displays and bright plumage, to sounds of song, to watching birds make specialized nests and raise young, there is never a dull moment. 

Yellow Warbler (male). Photo by Shayna Hartley. 

Whether you're seasoned or new to birding, you can utilize these tips to get the most out of this exciting time. 

Tips for Making the Most of Spring Birding: 

• Attract birds to your own backyard with season appropriate offerings:  try sunflower chips, BirdBerry Jelly, Bark Butter spread on trees, Bark Butter Bits, live mealworms, nectar, and fruit like oranges or blackberries. Many birds who don't typically visit feeders like Warblers, Gray Catbirds, Brown Thrashers, and Scarlet Tanagers will stop for fuel with these types of offerings

• Use Binoculars: may warblers, sparrows, and other birds look very similar from a distance (especially if your vision is not perfect!), they have similar shapes and colourations. With binoculars, you may be shocked to find more variation in species than you had realized 

• Snap a Picture and Share with Your Community: our Ontario Birds by WBU Barrie and WBU Newmarket Facebook Group is an amazing place to connect with other members in the community, help each other with identification, and see which birds are being spotted at certain areas across Ontario. This really helps to track spring arrivals - including Baltimore Orioles and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

• Familiarize Yourself with Bird Calls and Sounds: identifying birds by sound is an incredibly fun and useful skill - you don't even need to spot a bird to know for sure it's in the area! Merlin Bird ID has been dubbed 'shazam for bird calls' and is fun - stand outside your door in the morning and see which birds are calling near your home! It's such a positive way to start a day. 

We hope you're feeling as elated as we are for spring migration to be underway. Please, share your bird finds with us on Facebook and Instagram, we are always keen to see!

Happy birding! 


Warmly, 

Heather