Field Notes

Spring Songbirds in Vermont

10 min read / April 16, 2025

Meet 12 members of the dawn chorus

Vermont is a globally significant breeding ground for migratory songbirds. Once spring nights are warm enough to crack a window, it’s hard to avoid the dawn chorus of birdsong that fills the sky. Below, VLT’s Mead Binhammer shares twelve spring songbirds in Vermont this time of year, with a few tips on how to spot them.

What is the dawn chorus?

After a long, dark, and quiet winter season in Vermont, you might notice the return of nature’s alarm clock on the first warm, spring days. You go to sleep with the window cracked, just to get some fresh air, and find yourself awakened just before dawn, surprised to hear the neighbors raucously singing right outside your window, excited for the opportunity of a new day. This is the dawn chorus.

The dawn chorus is a cacophonous explosion of birdsong that begins just before the sun rises over the horizon and ends when the world is bathed in the sunlight’s warmth. Starting with solitary singers, such as the Hermit Thrush and American Robin, and rising to a crescendo at dawn, where a dozen or more species can be heard simultaneously, the dawn chorus is a daily ritual throughout the spring and summer seasons that welcomes us to the frenzy of the day.

A performance with purpose

For humans, the first dawn choruses of the year wake us from the muted sounds of winter and signify that spring is arriving. Soon, summer’s abundance will be upon us. For birds, however, the first dawn choruses of spring are more purposeful. These songbirds have just returned to their breeding grounds for another year and are now busy locating a mate and a territory where they will raise their young. Each one broadcasts the existence of its summer home to the world, asserting and defending its territory until fall migration begins in earnest.

Below are twelve songbirds you can hear — and, if you’re lucky, see — in Vermont each spring.

1. American Robin

American Robins (Turdus migratorious), a commonly recognized and beloved bird, are a member of the thrush family.

Where to find them: An early morning and late evening singer, the American Robin spends its day foraging for worms in lawnscapes or eating fruits and berries in thickets and trees. Robins are one of the most recognized North American bird species, as their habitat ranges from the Mountain West, across the Great Plains, through suburban landscapes, and into mountainous forests in the east. They are prolific breeders and can produce multiple broods of chicks in a single year, though not all of those chicks will make it to fledging.

When to see them: While most Vermont Robins make their way south for the winter, many will hold over despite the winter conditions. Those who stay can be seen at bird feeders, in farm fields, and in thickets even in the coldest months of the year.

What to listen for: Similar to the Hermit Thrush, their song is a melodic, recognizable assemblage of whistling notes, akin to, “cheerily, cheer up, cheer up!”

Hear their song

2. Bobolink

What to listen for: The R2D2 of our grasslands and farm fields, the Bobolink’s (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) metallic call resembles a sound from the Star Wars movies.

What to look for: During breeding season, the male Bobolink is black in coloration, with white stripes on its wings and a yellow patch just behind its head, while the female or nonbreeding male is largely brown, with a yellow head and dark stripe behind the eye.

When to see them: Bobolinks arrive to Vermont in mid-to-late May.

Where to find them: In large grasslands and hayfields, males perform flight displays, circling and singing above their breeding territory. These birds are some of our most impressive migrants, traveling more than 6,000 miles to the grasslands of southern South America for the winter.

What they need: Bobolinks nest exclusively in grasslands and require field patches of at least 10 acres to establish a breeding territory. A once abundant bird in Vermont’s landscape, their populations have declined due to development, pasture reforestation, and intensive haying and cropping of agricultural fields.

Hear their song

3. Common Yellowthroat

What to look for: The Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) is a small but easily identifiable warbler due to the male’s black mask, which creates a stark contrast from its yellow and gold body. The females are less colorful but retain a bright yellow breast and gray gold along the back.

Where to find them: Yellowthroats are abundant in open areas with dense vegetation, such as marshes, overgrown pastures, hedgerows, and ski trails. Along with Yellow Warblers, they are very curious birds and a favorite of birders, as they reliably appear prominently to inspect a well-voiced “pishing” sound.

What to listen for: They announce their presence loudly and frequently, singing a recognizable “wichity, wichity, wichity” throughout the breeding season.

When to see them: Yellowthroats arrive to Vermont in early-to-mid May, find a mate, and create a nest close to the ground in dense, thicket-like vegetation. They may nest twice or even three times a season, depending on how successful their previous attempts were. Then they depart south to the Caribbean and Central America for the winter.

Hear their song

4. Eastern Phoebe

What to listen and look for: The Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) arrives to Vermont early in the spring and is easily recognizable due to its flycatching foraging habits, easy-to-remember call (“Fee-Bee”), and proclivity to sit on exposed branches and fence posts wagging its tail. The birds are dark on their backside, and white with faint yellow on the belly.

Where to find them: They feed primarily on flying insects and, as habitat generalists, often will build their mud-laden nests around buildings, bridges and homes. They particularly like the protected eaves above low-traffic doorways. Unlike most other species, Phoebes will often reuse the same nest sites for several years. That means the phoebe outside your barn might just be the same individual as last year, and even the year before!

What they need: In Vermont, Phoebes rely on habitats that produce an abundance of flying insects, such as open woodlands, farmland, and high-quality wetlands and waterways.

When to see them: They arrive to take advantage of the first insect hatches of spring, in March or April, and leave for the southeastern U.S. when the frost hits, usually in mid-October.

Hear their song

5. Hermit Thrush

Where to find them: The official state bird of Vermont, the Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) is a forest denizen. It is often found perching on low branches or flitting along the forest floor, foraging for insects as it scratches about in leaf litter.

What to listen for: The brown and white coloration of the Hermit Thrush blends into its often-dense surroundings, making it difficult to spot. But its beautiful, flute-like song provides the soundtrack to summer evenings in Vermont. Not only is it usually the first song of the dawn chorus, but also the last to serenade us to sleep.

When to see them: The Hermit Thrush arrives in Vermont in March or April, with the males leading the way. Once they locate a nesting territory, they will find a mate and raise a clutch of eggs over the course of summer before departing for their wintering grounds in October.

What they need: Hermit Thrushes require large, intact forests with infrequent openings such as ponds, blowdowns, or logging roads. This is an abundant ecosystem in Vermont that we continue to work to protect.

Hear their song

6. Indigo Bunting

The male Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) is one of the more striking birds found in Vermont spring.

Where to find them: Male buntings, shining a brilliant blue, sing ceaselessly on visible high perches, such as treetops, power lines, and even rooftops. With a bubbly, effervescent song, these boisterous belters simply will not be outdone during the dawn chorus.

What to look for: Female Indigo Buntings are a mostly brown bird, with a slight fleck of blue on the tail. While this is a stark contrast from the male’s summer blue, both sexes exhibit this brown coloration in the winter months. It is only in the summer that the indigo color of the male’s plumage shines through, produced by the refraction of light off the bird’s feathers.

What they need: For forage, Indigo Buntings frequent field edges and shrubby areas, where they eat small seeds and insects.

When to see them: They arrive to Vermont in mid-May, nesting in these protected shrubby areas, and depart for Central America and the Caribbean earlier than most other migrants — in late August or early September.

Hear their song

7. Ovenbird

The Ovenbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), which looks like a smaller version of the Hermit Thrush, gets its name from the oven-shaped nest that it builds along the ground. Beloved by many, the Ovenbird’s elusive yet ebullient presence is eternalized in a titular poem by Robert Frost.

Where to find them: These woodland denizens forage on insects and seeds along the forest floor and in low branches.

What to listen for: They are often heard before they are seen, calling out, “teacher, teacher, teacher!”

What they need: Ovenbirds rely on Vermont’s intact forest ecosystems during the breeding season.

When to see them: They arrive in Vermont in early May, migrating south during the winter to take refuge in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and locations in the Southeastern U.S.

Photo credit: Mike’s Birds from Riverside, CA, US, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Hear their song

8. Red-winged Blackbird

What to look for: The Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) is, as you might expect from the name, a black bird with red (and yellow) stripes on its wings. But only the mature male birds actually look this way. Female and juvenile Red-winged Blackbirds are a streaky mix of brown, white, and gold, resembling a large sparrow.

Where to find them: Red-wings inhabit open areas with grassy vegetation, and can often be found nesting in marshes, wetlands and hayfields.

When to see them: They are typically some of the first songbirds to return to Vermont each year, arriving in late February or early March.

What to listen for: Unlike Eastern Phoebes, who are usually alone in early spring, Red-wings form large foraging flocks, each contributing their distinctive song (“Conk-la-ree!”) to the group’s symphonic melody.

Hear their song

9. Song Sparrow

What to look for: Our most common sparrow, the Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) is a small gray and brown bird with recognizable stripes down its mostly-white breast. Apropos of its name, these birds are true vocalists, often singing throughout the day, not just as a part of the dawn chorus.

Where to find them: These birds are habitat generalists and can be found near homes in shrubby habitats, such as fencerows, garden edges, and on the borders of suburban yards. They often lay two or more clutches per breeding season and will continue trying to successfully reproduce if their first attempts fail.

What they need: They feed primarily on insects and seeds and need thicket-like vegetation for cover.

When to see them: In Vermont, some of the hardiest Song Sparrow individuals may overwinter here, while their migrating counterparts arrive in early March, staying until late October before flying south for winter.

Hear their song

10. Warbling Vireo

What to listen for: The gargling, cascading melody of the Warbling Vireo’s song (Vireo gilvus) almost perfectly resembles the wetland and streamside habitats it frequents. The fast, jumbled tune ends on a high note, as if to emphasize the end of each lyrical refrain.

What to look for: Though often heard before they are seen, the Warbling Vireo is mostly gray in coloration, with a yellowish white breast and a slight stripe over the eye.

Where to find them: They can be observed flitting high in the treetops along streams or rivers as they forage for caterpillars and other insects in the high branches of cottonwoods, red maples, and poplars.

What they need: Unlike their cousins, the Red-eyed Vireo, Warbling Vireos are often found on forest edges, not within the interior.

When to see them: Warbling Vireos arrive to Vermont in early May, producing a single brood of chicks before departing for Central America in August.

Hear their song

11. Winter Wren

Where to find them: The Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) is a ubiquitous early morning singer, particularly in dark, coniferous, and wet woods in Vermont.

What to listen for: Its spirited and flowing song is astonishingly loud, particularly given the fact that it is usually only 4” in stature.

What they need: Winter Wrens are not great fliers and often hop around the forest floor, where they forage for insects on downed logs and upturned roots. They make their well-camouflaged nests in slash or small cavities.

When to see them: Despite their name, Winter Wrens don’t typically arrive to Vermont until April, staying throughout the breeding season and into early October before heading to the southeastern U.S. for the coldest months of the year.

Hear their song

12. Yellow Warbler

What to look for: Perhaps no other bird is as conspicuous in the Vermont landscape as the Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia). With its brilliant yellow coloration, contrasting black eyes, and red streaks on its breast, this bird provides a refreshingly bright splash of color each spring.

What to listen for: Like all warblers, they are small in stature, weighing about half an ounce when mature. But they serenade us with a vibrant and vigorous song throughout the spring and summer: “sweet, sweet, sweet, I’m so sweet!”

When to see them: They arrive in Vermont at the end of April or early May.

Where to find them: A prolific insect eater, Yellow Warblers are often found in thickets and wooded areas near water, where they forage for caterpillars and larvae.

What they need: One of the main threats to the Yellow Warbler comes from habitat fragmentation, which has helped to bolster another bird species: the Brown-Headed Cowbird. Cowbirds lay their eggs in Warbler nests. If unrecognized by the female, they can outcompete her chicks for food, causing the brood to fail.

Hear their song