Spring Migration in the Midwest

There may be no better place to witness the spring passage of songbirds than the Midwest. The three main eastern migration routes converge here and since the birds are nearing their breeding grounds the males are usually in full and vigorous song. With impressive, often spectacular numbers and diversity of migrants on the best days, the Midwest is certainly comparable to any other migration region in North America.  Our tour takes in two prime locations for spring migrants, Crane Creek and the adjacent famous Magee Marsh Bird Trail at Ottawa NWR (Ohio), and Tawas Point on the west shore of Lake Huron in northern Michigan, and we also spend two full days in the Carolinian forests and grasslands of eastern Kentucky and southern Ohio, where we expect to find most of the southern breeding species. Between these sites, we should see a great majority of the eastern Neotropical landbird migrants, likely including as many as 35 species of warblers, including Swainson’s and Kirtland’s—and occasionally we see, or hear, all 37 species as in 2023 and again in 2025.