Hundreds of millions of birds migrate every spring from warmer wintering grounds to summer breeding grounds, and then head back south in the autumn. Most songbirds migrate at night and then spend the day resting and locating food at ground-based stopover spots.
A 2024 study found that rather than moving in a wave or pulse from location to location, migrating birds travel in a more stream-like manner, resulting in bird densities on the ground that change slowly over time.
That means your yard is unlikley to be innundated by a pulse of birds which are here today and gone tomorrow. Instead, the number of birds in your yard may not change much each day as a steady stream of birds depart each night and are replaced by new arrivals the next day. Be sure to turn on Haikubox bird alerts (here's how) -- with so many species of warblers, sparrows, orioles and thrushes on the move, you might be lucky enough to host a special favorite when it makes a pit stop at your home.