FIRST BIRD REPORTS 2010

For sightings    See Table I   

 Maps and interpretation:  

 Map II                                                     Map III

Map II: If the early reports are correct, a small group of birds, the "advance guard" so to speak, began arriving along the coastal plain areas of southeastern New England during the first two weeks of April, beginning rather early this year.  But the bulk of arrivals had not yet taken place, probably held up by cool rainy weather. The New York reports listed and mapped (only those east of 75º longitude) appear to have been a separate cluster proceeding up the Hudson River valley, because there had as yet been no reports from western CT, central MA, or the Berkshire highlands. (There were more mid-April reports from central and western NY, and from the St. Lawrence valley, not shown here.) Between April 18 and 24, reports from CT, RI, and MA continued to trickle in. Reports were received from coastal Maine, as well as the first report from VT. A few new arrivals--but still not the "big migration."

Map III: (April 25-May 1) Reports from RI, CT and eastern MA "exploded" on April 30 and May 1-- the "big arrival wave" starts in southern New England!! Also, we now get the first reports of Females-- from MA, RI, CT, and even ME. Increasing reports from southern NH, and the Connecticut River valley in MA.

Map IV                                                                                       Map VI                               

Comparing maps III and IV shows the dramatic change that took place in the region in the first week of May: hummingbirds arrived in numbers, and moved into western and northern New England. The first week in May was the main arrival week in most of New England this year. May 2-6 brought a continued large number of sightings from southern New England, including more Females. May 1-6 brought the first reports from the Berkshires in MA. There were more new early reports from VT. Hummers appeared in NH in a big way on May 6, 7, and 8, including Errol in Coos County in White Mountains on May 6. There were also more new sightings from the northern Maine coast, including far-eastern Lubec, and Bar Harbor.

Comparing maps IV and VI shows that arrivals continued apace during the next two weeks of May, finally slowing during the last week. May 9-22 saw many new reports from western CT, western MA, and VT.  May 15 and 16 were especially large arrival days in Vermont.  Hummers pushed further into more northerly and higher-elevation areas, notably into northern Maine.

The whole arrival period stretched over two months, April and May. On May 31, some birds were seen still migrating north quite a ways offshore.

Maps produced by Lynette Leka

TABLE I: FIRST BIRD REPORTS,  April 1-May 31, 2010  (All Birds - Males and Females)

Note: For reasons of space, the table does not contain all of the sightings submitted, or all of the sightings which appear on the maps.

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page updated 5/31/2010