Seasonal
Bird Movements in North-Central Texas
The
seasons that the authors have outlined are based primarily on the general habits
of bird movements within the study area. The nesting season for most birds in
North-central Texas is mid-May through July. Naturally, some birds will begin
nesting in April and a few birds will be migrating in July.
The windows of time outlined here are only meant as a general barometer
for understanding the seasonal habits of most of the region’s birds.
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Spring
- March is perhaps the most peculiar month of the NC-Texas year. Although
generally a quiet time for birds, some migrant shorebirds begin to move.
By April, most hawks and shorebirds are on the move and passerine
migration begins in earnest. The
first week in May is the heaviest for Spring migration in general.
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Summer
- By mid-May there are still some late migrants passing through but most nesters in North-central Texas
have already found their new homes. In June there is little long-range movement by the area’s birds. During July, several
birds began some post-nesting movement and a few begin their true migration.
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Fall
- Fall migration for birds in this area stretch out over a much greater window
of time than spring migration. Much of the migrant bird life begin fall migration
as early as August- particularly the shorebirds and small passerines. By
October, some waders, hawks, ducks, and eventually sparrows join the migration
while the shorebird migration closes. |
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Winter
– November begins to see the largest arrival of sparrows and the first arrival
of juncos. Some wintering hawks arrive almost
daily. Ducks continue moving into the area. By Thanksgiving, many of the
area’s gulls are arriving, and most of the blackbirds begin flocking in
massive groups at this time. The last to arrive are the longspurs in December. |
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The
map
of the following area zones better defines how the checklist views
designators such as "Far West". This map
is only general in nature, and there naturally is some overlap in bird
distribution.
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