Spring · March–May

Spring Birds

Spring birds announce themselves: the Baltimore Oriole's whistling song from the treetops is a herald of spring across eastern North America, and the brightening yellow of male goldfinches is a mark of approaching warm months ³⁴.

The behavior below is from All About Birds species accounts [3–8], feeding advice from Project FeederWatch ², and the state-by-state numbers from eBird records on this site ¹.

Male Baltimore oriole in a treetop — one of the first spring birds by song in the East — Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Spring birds arriving and changing

Orioles return from Central America in spring, when nectar and ripe fruit make up more of the diet than in summer — the window for orange halves and jelly ³. Goldfinches finish their late-winter molt and the males turn yellow ⁴. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arrive to breed in deciduous woodlands, old fields, forest edges, orchards and backyards; the pairs stay together only days to weeks ⁵. Robins are singing: in spring males attract females by singing, raising and spreading the tail and inflating the white-striped throat, and the birds shift from winter fruit back to earthworms on lawns ⁶.

Spring birds settling in to nest

Northern Cardinals are the bird most often seen attacking their own reflection in windows and car mirrors in spring and early summer, when both sexes defend territory; it stops a few weeks later as hormone levels fall ⁷. A week or two before building, the female visits possible sites with the male following, and nests go into a fork of small branches in a sapling, shrub or vine tangle ⁷. Black-capped Chickadees excavate their own cavities in dead snags or rotten branches, frequently alder or birch, or take a nest box put up well before the breeding season and filled with sawdust or shavings ⁸. Tufted Titmice, which cannot excavate, take natural holes, old woodpecker holes and boxes ⁹.

Spring is also when feeder hygiene matters most: clean feeders more often in wet weather, and switch hummingbird feeders to a one-to-four sugar-water mix with no dye as the first birds arrive ².

Spring birds by state

Birds regularly reported in each state from March–May, most-reported first, from eBird checklists 2020–2024 retrieved through GBIF. “Here for spring” birds are migrants or seasonal visitors; the rest stay all year.

Spring birds in Arizona (84 species)

Here for spring: , Turkey Vulture, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Lucy's Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Yellow Warbler

Year-round: Mourning Dove, House Finch, Lesser Goldfinch, Gila Woodpecker, Verdin, Common Raven, Gambel's Quail, Curve-billed Thrasher

Spring birds in California (87 species)

Here for spring: White-crowned Sparrow, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Barn Swallow, Black-headed Grosbeak, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, , Ruddy Duck

Year-round: House Finch, Anna's Hummingbird, , Mourning Dove, Lesser Goldfinch, Black Phoebe, California Towhee, Common Raven

Spring birds in Colorado (86 species)

Here for spring: Mourning Dove, Western Meadowlark, Common Grackle, Gadwall, Say's Phoebe, House Wren, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Double-crested Cormorant

Year-round: American Robin, , House Finch, Mallard, Canada Goose, , , Black-capped Chickadee

Spring birds in Florida (84 species)

Here for spring: Northern Parula, , Great Crested Flycatcher, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, , Bald Eagle, Black-and-white Warbler

Year-round: Northern Cardinal, Mourning Dove, Red-bellied Woodpecker, , , Blue Jay, Osprey, White Ibis

(83 species)

Here for spring: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Brown-headed Cowbird, White-eyed Vireo, Great Crested Flycatcher, , Northern Parula,

Year-round: Northern Cardinal, Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Mourning Dove,

(61 species)

Here for spring: Pacific Golden-Plover, Wedge-tailed Shearwater, Ruddy Turnstone, Red-tailed Tropicbird, Sanderling

Year-round: Common Myna, Zebra Dove, Japanese White-eye, Spotted Dove, House Finch, Cattle Egret, , Northern Cardinal

Spring birds in Illinois (87 species)

Here for spring: , Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Tree Swallow, , , House Wren, Baltimore Oriole

Year-round: American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Canada Goose, Mallard, Mourning Dove, , , Blue Jay

(81 species)

Here for spring: , Canada Goose, Turkey Vulture, Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Grackle, , House Wren,

Year-round: American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, , , Red-bellied Woodpecker, Mourning Dove

(91 species)

Here for spring: Turkey Vulture, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, , Blue-winged Teal, Eastern Meadowlark, Barn Swallow, Baltimore Oriole

Year-round: Northern Cardinal, American Robin, Mourning Dove, , Blue Jay, , Canada Goose, Red-bellied Woodpecker

Spring birds in Michigan (83 species)

Here for spring: , Song Sparrow, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Turkey Vulture, , Tree Swallow, Baltimore Oriole

Year-round: American Robin, Northern Cardinal, Canada Goose, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Mourning Dove, , Mallard

(88 species)

Here for spring: Brown-headed Cowbird, Common Grackle, , Eastern Phoebe, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, , , Barn Swallow

Year-round: Northern Cardinal, American Robin, Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Tufted Titmouse, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Turkey Vulture,

(81 species)

Here for spring: , Mourning Dove, Common Grackle, Canada Goose, Brown-headed Cowbird, , , Blue-winged Teal

Year-round: American Robin, Northern Cardinal, , Blue Jay, , American Goldfinch, Mallard, House Finch

Spring birds in Oregon (87 species)

Here for spring: Turkey Vulture, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, American Goldfinch, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Barn Swallow, Brown-headed Cowbird,

Year-round: American Robin, Song Sparrow, , Mallard, Dark-eyed Junco, , ,

Spring birds in Rhode Island (84 species)

Here for spring: , Common Grackle, , Osprey, Yellow Warbler, Brown-headed Cowbird, ,

Year-round: American Robin, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay, Carolina Wren, Mourning Dove

(90 species)

Here for spring: , Canada Goose, Common Grackle, Mourning Dove, Western Meadowlark, , Blue-winged Teal, Brown-headed Cowbird

Year-round: American Robin, Mallard, , American Goldfinch, Blue Jay, , ,

Spring birds in Tennessee (88 species)

Here for spring: Brown-headed Cowbird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, , , Tree Swallow, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo,

Year-round: Northern Cardinal, Carolina Wren, American Robin, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadee, , Blue Jay, Mourning Dove

Spring birds in Texas (98 species)

Here for spring: Barn Swallow, White-eyed Vireo, Brown-headed Cowbird, Purple Martin, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Blue-winged Teal, Summer Tanager, Yellow-rumped Warbler

Year-round: Northern Cardinal, , Mourning Dove, Great-tailed Grackle, , Turkey Vulture, Carolina Wren,

(82 species)

Here for spring: , Common Grackle, , Brown-headed Cowbird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-rumped Warbler, , Red-eyed Vireo

Year-round: Northern Cardinal, Carolina Wren, American Robin, , Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay, Carolina Chickadee

(82 species)

Here for spring: , Western Meadowlark, , House Finch, , Black-billed Magpie, , Common Grackle

Year-round: American Robin, Canada Goose, Mallard, Common Raven, , , Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco

Spring birds in other states

Each state guide lists its birds month by month:

Mississippi North Dakota Oklahoma South Carolina West Virginia

Birds in other seasons

Summer birds →Fall birds →

Frequently asked questions

What are the first spring birds to arrive?

In the East, Baltimore Orioles by song, ruby-throated hummingbirds at feeders, and robins singing on lawns; cardinals and chickadees never left ³⁵⁶.

Why is a cardinal attacking my window in spring?

It is fighting its reflection while defending territory; both sexes do it, and it stops as hormone levels subside a few weeks later ⁷.

Spring Birds

Spring birds arriving and changing

Spring birds settling in to nest

Spring birds by state

Spring birds in Arizona (84 species)

Spring birds in California (87 species)

Spring birds in Colorado (86 species)

Spring birds in Florida (84 species)

(83 species)

(61 species)

Spring birds in Illinois (87 species)

(81 species)

(91 species)

Spring birds in Michigan (83 species)

(88 species)

(81 species)

Spring birds in Oregon (87 species)

Spring birds in Rhode Island (84 species)

(90 species)

Spring birds in Tennessee (88 species)

Spring birds in Texas (98 species)

(82 species)

(82 species)

Spring birds in other states

Birds in other seasons

Frequently asked questions

What are the first spring birds to arrive?

Why is a cardinal attacking my window in spring?

Sources