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SONGS ON THE WIND:
Bird Migration Into and Through
The Grand Canyon Region
By Bryan Brown
The Red-necked (Northern) Phalarope and Swainson’s
Hawk travel the longest distance of all Grand Canyon
migrants, over 6,000 miles each way.
Images courtesy The Birds of North America
Categories of migratory birds at Grand Canyon:
• Over 375 species of birds have been recorded at Grand Canyon.
• Of these, about 135 are regularly-occurring seasonal migrants.
Category
# of species
(approximate)
Spring and fall only = “classic migrant”
23
Summer resident/visitor migrating into and out of
region
70
Winter resident/visitor migrating into and out of region
12
Permanent resident with different winter and summer
populations
30
TOTAL MIGRANT SPECIES
135
Other aspects to consider when categorizing migrants:
• Short, medium, or long-distance migrant?
• Diurnal or nocturnal migrant?
• Passerine (songbird) or non-passerine?
• If passerine, does it sing during migration?
• Is it a Neotropical (“complete”) migrant?
• Does it migrate singly, in single-species flocks,
or in mixed-species flocks?
At Grand Canyon, Wilson’s Warbler is a nocturnal,
spring/fall only, passerine, Neotropical migrant that
sings during migration and travels singly, in flocks, and
in mixed-species flocks.
Images courtesy The Birds of North America
What are other generalized aspects of migration?
• Do spring and fall migration differ?
• What initiates migratory behavior? When to migrate?
• How do migrants know where to go? How do they navigate?
• Do migrants follow leading lines or exhibit broad-front
movements?
• Where do migrants get the energy to migrate?
• Does a migrant make use of large-scale staging areas?
• Is all migration north-south?
• Do all age classes or sexes of a species migrate simultaneously?
• What habitats do migrants use?
Migrants exhibit a greater density and diversity in welldeveloped riparian habitat than adjacent desertscrub.
B. Brown photo
B. Brown photo
Spring and fall only migrants at Grand Canyon:
Non-passerines
Passerines
• White-faced Ibis
• Northern Shoveler
• Cliff Swallow
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
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American Wigeon
Canvasback; Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Osprey; Broad-winged Hawk
Red-necked (Northern) Phalarope
Black-necked Stilt
American Avocet
Solitary Sandpiper
Willet
Common Snipe
Wilson’s Warbler
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Townsend’s Warbler
Hermit Warbler
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Spring and fall only migrants
Passerine
Non-passerine
Images courtesy The Birds of North America
Summer-resident (nesting) or summer-visitor species that
migrate into and through Grand Canyon in spring/fall (n=70).
Non-passerine
Passerine
Images courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Southward migration of
Burrowing Owls (n =
15) during fall 2014, as
determined by
geolocators monitored
by The Global Owl
Project.
Map courtesy The Global Owl Project
Winter-resident and winter-visitor species that migrate
into and through Grand Canyon in spring/fall (n = 12).
Non-passerines
• Canada Goose
• Northern Pintail
• Lesser Scaup
• Common Goldeneye
• Bufflehead
• Ruddy Duck
• Bald Eagle
• Rough-legged Hawk
• Belted Kingfisher
Passerines
• Winter Wren
• Cedar Waxwing
• Oregon Junco (ssp. of Dark-eyed
Junco)
Winter-resident migrants.
Non-passerine
Image courtesy Gary Cascio
Passerine
Image courtesy The Birds of North America
Permanent resident species (n = 30) with different summer and
winter populations (species present all year but individuals
migrate).
Passerine
Non-passerine
• Photo of spotted towhee here
Images courtesy Gary Cascio and The Birds of North America
There are about 30 permanent resident species at Grand
Canyon whose individuals do not migrate.
Non-passerines
Passerines
Images courtesy
NPS and The Birds
of North America
Neotropical migrants nest in North America but overwinter in
Central and South America (approx. 30).
Non-passerine
Passerine
Images courtesy The Birds of North America
Hawkwatch International has surveyed migratory
raptors in autumn at Lipan and Yaki Points since 1991.
Image courtesy
Grand Canyon River
Outfitters Association
and R. Stoner
A small but regionally important staging area for
migrant Bald Eagles existed along the Colorado River
at the mouth of Nankoweap Creek from the 1970s
through the early 1990s.
B. Brown photo
Image courtesy Tom Brownold
Will global climate change influence bird migration into
and through Grand Canyon? If so, what would these
influences be?
• Has global warming influenced bird
migration? Are there examples of this
influence at Grand Canyon?
• Can distant changes influence bird
migration at Grand Canyon?
• Bird migration = natural change.
B. Brown photo
Images courtesy:
• The Birds of North America
• Gary Cascio/Late Nite Grafix
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Bryan Brown
• Grand Canyon River Outfitters
Association/R. Stoner
• The Global Owl Project
• Tom Brownold
• National Park Service
B. Brown photo