According to the Managing Backyards and Other Urban Habitats for Birds publication from NC State University, "Along with spring’s wildflowers and pleasant weather come the joyous sounds of North Carolina’s migrating songbirds. From early April to mid-May, buntings, cuckoos, flycatchers, orioles, tanagers, thrushes, vireos, and warblers migrate from tropical countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean north to their breeding grounds in the United States."

"These birds are called neotropical migrants. Many of these migrant songbirds stay in North Carolina to build their nests and raise their young, while others continue farther north to other breeding areas. These same migrant birds fly south in September and early October to avoid the food shortages that occur as temperatures get colder. Our more familiar yard birds, such as bluebirds, cardinals, chickadees, robins, and woodpeckers, don’t migrate to the tropics and are termed residents because they generally remain in North Carolina year-round."

The publication also goes on to talk about how to feed birds and create bird habitat at home. Discussed in the publication are native plants, creating habitat and feeding birds. Learn why winter is the most important time to help birds out by feeding with bird feeders.