Seasons
Of course, birding opportunities vary a great deal with passing seasons. Some species of birds are year-round residents. But many more migrate in and out of our area, and among these migrants, there are three possibilities:
- There are those species that spend their winters south of us, and then migrate into the Niagara region to spend the summers here. For these species one needs to know their typical arrival dates in the Spring and their typical departure dates in the Fall.
- There are those species that spend their winters south of us, and their summers north of us. For these species one needs to know the range of dates in the Spring when they pass through our area heading north, and the range of dates in the Fall when they pass through our area heading south.
- There are those species that spend only their winters here. These are very cold-hardy birds that inhabit Arctic regions during the summers, and that retreat only to areas like the Niagara during the winters. For species, one needs to know their arrival dates in the Fall and their departure dates in the Spring.
We know of two sources that provide information about seasonal birds on the Niagara Frontier.
1: The BOS Migration Date App
In 2019 the Buffalo Ornithological Society launched a web site where you can enter the name of any migrant to find its average regional spring and fall arrival dates. Thanks to Sue Barth and Willie D’Anna for making this available!
2: The BOS Seasonal Checklist of the Birds
In 2002 a committee of the Buffalo Ornithological Society, chaired by David Suggs, developed and published an excellent booklet that provided information about the seasonal status of birds that appeared on the Niagara Frontier. It is based on society records from the 35 years up to December 2000. Even though this guide is now out of print, we are lucky to be able to reproduce it here with permission.
These are the original 2002 pages. So of course they do not reflect any changes that might have occurred during the most recent two decades. Be advised that we do know that the effects of climate change have been affecting migration times for some species. Nevertheless, with that caveat, we expect that you will find these pages very helpful.
