Fall Migration: Songbirds and Students Return to the Nest

Are Large Flocks We See During the Day Migrating?

If you see large flocks of birds during the day, “they’re probably not migrants,” said David Carr, director of UVA’s Blandy Experimental Farm, a research institute near Winchester. “Most – not all, but most – of the birds that migrate south for the winter do so at night.

“We’re at the end of breeding season for almost everything in Virginia, and a lot of birds start flocking up this time of year or move in big groups instead of pairs or little family groups.

“For example, we have several species of blackbirds that breed here in the summer, such as red-winged blackbirds and common grackles, that flock up late in the season. It helps them foraging and keeps them safer from predators.

“While it’s unlikely to observe nighttime migration, birds must settle and look for food and a place to rest during the day before the next leg of their trip. They’re mostly interested in insects and usually coming through when there are still leaves on the trees, which host hundreds and thousands of caterpillars. So, the best time to see these migrant birds is during the day, when they’re refueling.”

Where Are Good Places To See These Birds?

Carr recommends a visit to Blandy Experimental Farm, “one of the most productive fall migration sites in the northern Shenandoah Valley,” he said. “On Grounds, the Observatory Dining Hall, or O-Hill, is a famously productive spot to look for these migrating warblers in the fall.

“Along the Eastern Shore, Kiptopeke State Park is a major flyway for migratory birds and butterflies.”

How Can You Track What Species Are Migrating in Your Area?

“The migration of birds into Central and South America has recently begun in the last two or three weeks for many songbirds and other species. Some birds, like shorebirds, have been migrating since mid-July,” Carr said.

“If you live in a quiet place and go out at night when they’re moving in big numbers, you can hear them flying over,” he said. “They make little chirps and soft calls. Really good birders can learn to identify those flight calls.

“Scientists are setting up microphones to measure and identify birds flying over to estimate the number of birds migrating in the fall. There are researchers using radar to track movements.”

Carr recommends BirdCast, which tracks and estimates the number of birds migrating through an area overnight using radar. Then, based on the weather forecast for the next few days, the site will make predictions on what to expect for the following days.

What Birds Are Migrating South Through and to Virginia?

Birds moving through the area are commonly referred to as “neotropical,” the term for the geographic area encompassing the Caribbean, Central and South America.

“These species transition every year from spending the winter in the tropics and the summer up in the temperate zone of the United States and Canada,” Carr said. “Many of our songbirds fall into that category, the biggest subgroup being warblers. There are about 35 or so species of warblers that migrate in and out of Virginia on any given year.”

Male neotropical birds “lead the way” north in mid-April to establish breeding territories and make the reverse journey in August, according to Myrlene Staten, president of the Piedmont Virginia Bird Club.

Right now, you will see more hummingbirds at feeders, fattening up before the stress of the long flight over the Gulf of Mexico. While robins and some other species spend the winter in the area, you can still see large flocks of migratory birds, such as American robins, European starlings, blue jays and Canada geese heading south. Hawk watchers set up on the ridges (like Afton Mountain) to monitor raptors as they move south.

But as some birds leave Charlottesville, others, including white-crowned sparrows, hermit thrushes, dark-eye juncos and red-breasted nuthatches, come south from more northerly locations such as Canada for relatively milder winters.

We’ll see, or rather hear, our neotropical friends again in the spring, when many students will flock to other geographies themselves for Spring Break.