U.S. Hometown Boreal Bird Species Lists

U.S. Cities Birding Lists

The United States is a boreal bird's home away from home, with an estimated 1.5 billion boreal birds wintering in the U.S. each year. More boreal bird species winter in the U.S. Lower 48 than in any other country or region. Furthermore, the entire wintering population of several boreal bird species occurs only within the U.S. In almost half the states (23), the official bird is a boreal bird.

Select a city to see which species near you breed in the boreal forest.

Choose a U.S. city near you:

Boreal Birds of the Boston Area

Boston may be famous for its spider web of roads but when you look at the bird life in the area you see a web that extends far beyond Massachusetts. Of the 300 or so regularly-occurring bird species in the Boston area, more than 30% (95 species) have breeding ranges that lie wholly or largely within the boreal forest of Canada.

The Horned Grebes bobbing in the waves off of Winthrop Beach or Wollaston Beach starting in October may have just arrived after a 3000-mile journey from breeding grounds in northern Manitoba or Saskatchewan. Likewise, the Common Goldeneye, a small duck familiar to duck hunters as the "whistler" for the sound of its whistling wings in flight, relies on the boreal forest to provide the tree cavities inside of which it lays its 7-10 eggs but during the winter feeds on shellfish in the bays and coves along the Atlantic coast. The annual Greater Boston area Christmas Bird Count regularly tallies 200-1000 Common Goldeneyes on the mid-December survey.

Other boreal breeding species use the habitats of the Boston area only for a short time in fall and spring migration. In fact, at least 40 of the 95 boreal breeding species that occur in the Boston area spend the winter in Central or South America or the Caribbean! The most amazing migration is that of the Blackpoll Warbler, a species in which an estimated 65% of the total population breeds within Canada's boreal forest. Migrating Blackpoll Warblers move south and east from their Canadian breeding grounds from August to early October then make an audacious leap off the continent to fly directly from New England and the Maritimes to northeastern South America--a flight that will take many days and will leave the birds exhausted and emaciated upon arrival. The species is one of the most abundant fall migrant warblers in the Boston area as they attempt to fatten up before leaving on their marathon flight.

Gull-like Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Black Tern	Fall		Spring
Bonaparte's Gull	Fall	Winter	Spring
Common Tern	Fall		Spring	Summer
Herring Gull	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer

Hawk-like Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Bald Eagle	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Merlin	Fall	Winter	Spring
Northern Goshawk	Fall	Winter	Spring
Northern Harrier	Fall	Winter	Spring
Osprey	Fall		Spring	Summer
Sharp-shinned Hawk	Fall		Spring

Owls
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Short-eared Owl	Fall	Winter	Spring

Perching Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Alder Flycatcher	Fall		Spring	Summer
American Robin	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
American Tree Sparrow	Fall	Winter	Spring
Bay-breasted Warbler	Fall		Spring
Belted Kingfisher	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Black-throated Green Warbler	Fall		Spring
Blackburnian Warbler	Fall		Spring
Blackpoll Warbler	Fall		Spring
Blue-headed Vireo	Fall		Spring
Canada Warbler	Fall		Spring
Cape May Warbler	Fall		Spring
Chipping Sparrow	Fall		Spring	Summer
Dark-eyed Junco	Fall	Winter	Spring
Eastern Kingbird	Fall		Spring	Summer
Fox Sparrow	Fall		Spring
Golden-crowned Kinglet	Fall	Winter	Spring
Gray-cheeked Thrush	Fall		Spring
Hermit Thrush	Fall		Spring
Least Flycatcher	Fall		Spring	Summer
Lincoln's Sparrow	Fall		Spring
Magnolia Warbler	Fall		Spring
Mourning Warbler	Fall		Spring
Nashville Warbler	Fall		Spring
Northern Shrike	Fall	Winter	Spring
Northern Waterthrush	Fall		Spring	Summer
Olive-sided Flycatcher	Fall		Spring
Palm Warbler	Fall		Spring
Philadelphia Vireo	Fall		Spring
Purple Finch	Fall	Winter	Spring
Red-eyed Vireo	Fall		Spring	Summer
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	Fall		Spring
Rusty Blackbird	Fall		Spring
Savannah Sparrow	Fall		Spring	Summer
Swainson's Thrush	Fall		Spring
Swamp Sparrow	Fall		Spring	Summer
Tennessee Warbler	Fall		Spring
White-crowned Sparrow	Fall		Spring
White-throated Sparrow	Fall	Winter	Spring
Wilson's Warbler	Fall		Spring
Winter Wren	Fall		Spring
Yellow Warbler	Fall		Spring	Summer
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher	Fall		Spring
Yellow-rumped Warbler	Fall	Winter	Spring

Long-legged Waders
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
American Bittern	Fall		Spring	Summer

Tree-clinging Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Northern Flicker	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Red-breasted Nuthatch	Fall	Winter	Spring
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	Fall		Spring

Upland Ground Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Common Nighthawk	Fall		Spring	Summer

Duck-like Birds
Species	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
American Black Duck	Fall	Winter	Spring
American Wigeon	Fall
Black Scoter	Fall	Winter	Spring
Blue-winged Teal	Fall		Spring
Bufflehead	Fall	Winter	Spring
Canada Goose	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Common Goldeneye	Fall	Winter	Spring
Common Loon	Fall	Winter	Spring
Common Merganser	Fall	Winter	Spring
Greater Scaup	Fall	Winter	Spring
Green-winged Teal	Fall		Spring
Horned Grebe	Fall	Winter	Spring
Lesser Scaup	Fall	Winter	Spring
Mallard	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Northern Pintail	Fall		Spring
Northern Shoveler	Fall		Spring
Pied-billed Grebe	Fall	Winter	Spring	Summer
Red-breasted Merganser	Fall	Winter	Spring
Red-necked Grebe	Fall	Winter	Spring
Red-throated Loon	Fall	Winter	Spring
Ring-necked Duck	Fall		Spring
Surf Scoter	Fall	Winter	Spring
White-winged Scoter	Fall	Winter	Spring

Sandpiper-like Birds
Species	Fall	Spring	Summer
Greater Yellowlegs	Fall	Spring
Hudsonian Godwit	Fall
Killdeer	Fall	Spring	Summer
Least Sandpiper	Fall	Spring
Lesser Yellowlegs	Fall	Spring
Short-billed Dowitcher	Fall	Spring
Solitary Sandpiper	Fall	Spring
Spotted Sandpiper	Fall	Spring	Summer
Wilson's Snipe	Fall	Spring