It’s really not very nice out, is it? It was damp and chilly this morning as I walked the New Gloucester Marsh. Swamp Sparrows and Song Sparrows, along with lots of Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles were singing. A male Northern Harrier passed overhead; the "Gray Ghost" looking most appropriate on this gray morning. A female American Kestrel harassed a Red-tailed Hawk. No rails or bitterns as I had hoped for, however.

This entire week looks rather unpleasant if you are a migrating songbird – or a birder hoping to see a migrating songbird. Onshore winds today, strong cold front followed by cold air and northwest winds predicted to sweep through on Tuesday, with northerly winds predicted for much of the rest of the week. Certainly, these are not the conditions conducive to producing a tide of migrants.

However, as May rapidly approaches, birds need to get to where they need to get to. With each passing day, the window of migration (in order to arrive on the breeding grounds in time to do what has to be done) narrows by a day. While it is still early – for most songbird species anyway – some individuals and some species will need to battle to weather conditions that they are faced with; they can only wait so long for a nice, pleasant tailwind. The progress of a bird’s migration can only be delayed so long.

While there may not be a tremendous flight this week, some migrants will likely be coming and going each day and night. Waterbirds are certainly on the move. Some birds, such as loons, gannets, and falcons fly into a headwind without any problems – in fact, their long, narrow, pointed wings generate lift when cutting into a headwind. They’ll be on the move. A trickle of passerines will be moving in and out as well, so it is certainly worth keeping an eye out at the usual migrant traps, or any other local patch of good habitat. Also, keep an eye on your feeders – hungry migrants arriving in cold weather will be happy to gain the supplemental resource of backyard feeders – especially when stocked with things like suet, mealworms, and fruit.