Welcome back to the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks

Towards the end of this past week, I noticed the first reports of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in the state.  Bright and early this morning, a gorgeous male in fresh plumage was atop of our weeping cherry illuminated by the sun.  Another was singing in the woods behind our house.  This species is the herald for a number of other returning neotropical songbirds, so this coming week should bring some good birding.

After the mild winter and unusually warm weather in March, we have had much cooler weather recently in April and the spring advance has slowed.  Thus, I was curious as to how today’s arrival of the grosbeak compared to the trends we have been following. Below are the graphs plotting data from long-term records donated to the Eastern PA Phenology Project (Northampton, Lehigh, Carbon, and Monroe Counties) and from analysis of eBird data for the entire state.

Our bird today was pretty much right on target based on the trends for sightings north of the Kittatinny Ridge. 

First Day of Arrival of Rose-breasted Grosbeak
(Eastern PA Phenology Project Data)
Compiled by Anna Meola



First Day of Arrival of Rose-breasted Grosbeak
(All of PA data from eBird)
Compiled by Anna Meola