It is fully spring by May and these and other long-range migrants are arriving! The movement of millions of birds from the neotropics to North America is an event many birders anticipate all winter.
The focus of birding in April is on spring migration and a major transition in bird life in Washington. Our knowledge of bird migration is expanding with increased interest and research into the amazing distances covered by birds and how they find their way on these journeys.
The Pacific-slope Flycatcher was formerly considered the same species as the Cordilleran Flycatcher Empidonax occidentalis and known as the Western Flycatcher.
“Abundant and well-known, the Common Yellowthroat has succeeded by being a nonconformist. As the only one of our warblers that will nest in open marshes, it is found in practically every reed-bed and patch of cattails from coast to coast” (Kaufman, p. 550).