Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory
The Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory (KVBO) is a program of the Kalamazoo Nature Center that is over 50 years old! Collaborative research between KVBO and government agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations allows individual birds to be tracked as they move throughout North America. Surveys, banding, and parasite sampling allows researchers at KVBO to examine how environmental changes, pests, and diseases impact the distribution and demography of bird species.
You can support the important work the KVBO is doing!
Rich Keith
he/him/his
KVBO Director
Fall Bird Banding
Learn all about bird banding with the seasonal banding interns! This long-running program has contributed data on over 650,000 birds to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory that is used for scientific research, management and conservation of birds across the country.
All banding, marking, and sampling is being conducted under a federally authorized Bird Banding Permit issued by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Lab.
KVBO Annual Reports
This report covers the various birding projects and research conducted over the last year. From spring surveys to fall banding, a highlight reel of the birding work KVBO staff have completed is now available.
Donors who contribute $100 or more will receive a paper copy of this beautiful 32-page report!
2026 Fall Banding Updates
September 30 - October 15, 2026
It’s been quite busy the past 2 weeks, with both people and birds. The Nature’s Way Preschool classes came to see bird banding. Parents, kids, and teachers were all very excited. One day we had over 100 people visit the banding barn!
We recently had this year’s record for the number birds banded in one day, with 193 new birds and 26 previously banded birds were recaptured. Most of the birds caught that day were White-throated Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers.
-Lily Hendershot
The weather is changing fast! The first two weeks of October have been a whirlwind of vastly different temperatures and bird totals for us. After days of warm weather and few birds, we knew something was different one morning. It was a much colder start of the day, and we could hear birds surrounding us everywhere. We captured quite a few birds at first and wondered if this could last throughout the day? I was banding constantly that morning and then a call over the radio asked if everyone could come out to help get birds out of the nets. Three of the nets were absolutely filled and by the end of the day we had 156 new birds banded. It was a challenge, but it was amazing to see so many birds in one day!
– Sidney
September 16-30, 2026
“I’m very happy that the white-throated sparrows are beginning to arrive. They’re my favorite birds! But they’re not as exciting as the wood thrush we caught at Pitsfield. This wood thrush was carrying a MOTUS tag. Rich and Brenda had tagged it back in 2024, so it was very cool to recapture it.
There have been a handful of new people who want to get involved with banding. Volunteers are always greatly appreciated. We were also visited by the conservation students from Heronwood Field Station. Both classes seemed very excited, and I hope they carry their curiosity far into the future.”
– Lily Hendershot
The leaves are starting to change and so are the birds in our nets! In the past few weeks, birds like warblers and hummingbirds have begun to move on and now our later migrants are starting to appear. One of the first to arrive was an Orange-crowned Warbler. Being a small, yellowish warbler, this species could easily be mistaken for a Tennessee Warbler at first, but parting the feathers on their head might just reveal a flash of orange! We now have had Ruby-crowned Kinglets, White-throated Sparrows, and many other species that indicate colder weather will be here soon. I have loved seeing the fall season progress through the new species at our nets, and I can’t wait to see what other new species arrive!
– Sidney Collino
From the banders: Week of September 17
Fall banding season is off to a great start! One of my favorite moments during the first few weeks was being surprised by a special bird. As a bander, you don’t always know what species is wiggling around in the bird bag you pick up. The bird in this bag was big with a black toenail sticking out of the fabric. Blue Jay? As I reached in the bag I felt a long bill. Brown Thrasher? I pulled away the bag to reveal a Black-billed Cuckoo! I was so excited to see this species up close for the very first time. I am so grateful to be able to see so many amazing birds like the cuckoo up close while working with such great people. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the fall banding season brings!
– Sidney
The first 3 weeks of banding went well! Plenty of visitors have stopped by to experience bird banding, and the volunteers have been a pleasure to work with. I’ve been able to band a few somewhat-uncommon birds, including a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and some Orchard Orioles. I’ll be looking forward to seeing white-throated sparrows later in the season.
– Lily
Kleinstuck Spring Migration Bird Surveys
Started in 1973, this survey covers the entire spring migration period and, over the years, has documented 209 species. 2026 Kleinstuck Report coming soon!
Kleinstuck Survey Weekly Updates
Check back here for weekly updates on spring migration from April – May each year!
April 9-15, 2026
The last week has been a little slow, adding only 6 new additions (highlighted red in the following list) putting us at 65 for the season. The Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Hermit Thrush numbers have increased significantly in the last week, and the Ruby-crowned Kinglets are now outnumbering their close cousin Golden-crowned Kinglets. Purple Finches have increased in the last few days with birds that probably overwintered farther south and are now moving back north. Tree Swallows have been present for a couple weeks but finally showed up at Kleinstuck. The first Blue-headed Vireo was on Monday April 13th, and we can expect a bunch more in the coming weeks. Birds to be on the watch out for this coming week would be House Wrens, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and maybe a warbler species or two that are not Yellow-rumped, like a Black-and-white or Black-throated Green Warbler. Hoping to see a little less rain this coming week also.
April 16 - 22, 2026
This past week has been one of fluctuating temperatures,
with below freezing to almost 80 degrees.
It also has been a very early leaf out with the vegetation looking more
like early May which is still almost 10 days away. This past week I added 14 new species
(highlighted in red) to the list putting us at 79 for the season now. There were a couple surprises this week with
the Hooded Warbler being the most notable showing up on the 16th
after a warm night of southerly breezes.
This record tied the earliest date ever for this species being found in
Kalamazoo County. The Hooded Warbler was
only seen for one day before disappearing.
Another slightly early species returning was an Ovenbird heard on April
21st. Some other more expected Warblers
were also found this week with Nashville and Yellow Warblers and a Northern
Waterthrush. The Broad-winged Hawk has
once again returned and is hanging out in the back property near where the
Dentist office is located, fingers crossed it will stay and nest for a 3rd
year. Get your oranges and grape jelly
out because the Orioles have returned and I would also put up some Hummingbird
feeders because I think they will show up very soon if they have not already,
especially given the warm temps expected in the next couple days. I still have not had any Black-and-white or
Black-throated Green Warblers yet, but I expect that to change very soon
also. Spring is here and each day new
birds are arriving so get out and explore Kleinstuck or your favorite local
park, it is a great time of year to be birding.
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (male)
Wood Duck Pair
White-throated Sparrow
.
April 23 - May 6, 2026
This last week started out cold with northerly winds that pretty much stalled out the migration until Sunday night, which is when the wind shifted to the south and both Monday and Tuesday, we had many new arrivals and more of our summer residents returning. This last week we added 9 new species (listed in red below) most occurring in the last couple of days, bringing us to a total of 97 species for the season. There were 3 new species of Warbler and 3 new species of Thrush along with a Great-crested Flycatcher and a Yellow-throated Vireo. I was also lucky enough to see a Bald Eagle flying over carrying a fish. One of the new warblers was a Blackburnian Warbler which is one of my favorites with that beautiful orange throat, they are just difficult to see most of the time since they prefer to be in the treetops. This time of year, also brings the Oak trees into bloom with their caterpillar like catkins which are a favorite for a whole host of species especially warblers. So, if you see an Oak tree keep a close eye on it because there is most likely some birds in it. Another one of the new arrivals was a very cooperative Veery which I was able to get a photo of. Hopefully this coming week we shall see a large movement of birds with the peak of the migration usually happening around mid-May.
Veery
Blue-winged Warbler
Red-tailed Hawk with a Black Squirrel
May 7 - 13, 2026
This last week we saw some good days and some not so good days, however in all we added 16 new species (highlighted in red), putting us at 113 for the season. The mornings this past week started out cold but a few of them warmed up nicely and there were many birds around. On Wednesday I led my second guided walk and even though it was a chilly day there was lots of activity and an Indigo Bunting sat out for all to see (pictured below). This week we checked off 7 new species of warblers, with a personal highlight of mine being able to see a Golden-winged and Cape May Warbler. Like every year, this time in May the challenge is always to try and see some of the warblers that you hear, and it takes lots of patience and a strong neck. Another species that has returned and you should hear singing all throughout the summer months is the Red-eyed Vireo. Anyways there are some nice warm days predicted this weekend, so look for a push of the later migrants like the Cuckoos, Alder and Willow Flycatcher and Mourning, Canada, and Blackpoll Warblers during the coming week.
Indigo Bunting
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Yellow Warbler
New to the KNC Gift Shop!
Do you have (or want to start) a list of birds you’ve seen in the region? Pick up the 2026 edition of the “Checklist and Seasonal Distribution of the Birds of Kalamazoo County” from the Visitor Center Gift Shop. This publication was made possible through a generous grant from the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo.
Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas
Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas I & II, published in 2013, is your source for information on breeding birds in the state of Michigan, including access to two important longitudinal studies conducted over nearly a 40 year period by the research program at the Kalamazoo Nature Center and its partner organizations.
Purchase a limited-edition hardcover, full-color copy of the Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas II in the Kalamazoo Nature Center’s Visitor Center!
Peer Reviewed Publications
VanTol, S.D., Koehn, C.R., Keith, R., Keith, B. and Proppe, D.S. (2021), Avian migrants encounter higher temperatures but continue to add mass at an inland stopover site in the Great Lakes region. J Avian Biol, 52:. https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.02626
Chartier, A.T., B.S. Keith, and R.S. Keith. 2021. Ruby-throated Hummingbird Movements in Southwestern Michigan. North American Bird Bander. 46(1&2): 3-8.
Keith, R. S., Keith, B.S., Scharf, W. C., & Hamer, S. A. (2015). Ixodes brunneus (Acari: Ixodidae) from Two Bird Hosts: A New Michigan Tick. The Great Lakes Entomologist, 48(3), 15.
Van der Hoek, Y., Wilson, A. M., Renfrew, R., Walsh, J., Rodewald, P. G., Baldy, J., & Manne, L. L. (2015). Regional variability in extinction thresholds for forest birds in the north‐eastern United States: An examination of potential drivers using long‐term breeding bird atlas datasets. Diversity and Distributions, 21(6), 686-697.
Morris, S. R., Andrijević, A. S., Sullivan, R., Keith, R. S., Keith, B. S., & Sheets, H. D. (2013). An 18-year study of migration and stopover ecology of Tennessee warblers in Kalamazoo County, Michigan. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 125(1), 70-78.
Hamer, S. A., Hickling, G. J., Keith, R., Sidge, J. L., Walker, E. D., & Tsao, J. I. (2012). Associations of passerine birds, rabbits, and ticks with Borrelia miyamotoi and Borrelia andersonii in Michigan, USA. Parasites & vectors, 5(1), 1-11.
SELECTED OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Chartier, A. T., Baldy, J. J., & Brenneman J. (2013). Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas II. Kalamazoo Nature Center.
Brewer, R., McPeek, G. A., & Adams, R. (1991). The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Michigan. Michigan State University Press.
SELECTED ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FOR DATA AND STAFF CONTRIBUTIONS
Branch, E.C. and A.A. Cole-Wick. 2025. Status, Distribution, and Adaptive Capacity of Rare and Declining Avian Species at Fort Custer Training Center. Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Report No. 2025-06, Lansing, MI.
Zylstra, E. R., Ries, L., Neupane, N., Saunders, S. P., Ramírez, M. I., Rendón-Salinas, E., … & Zipkin, E. F. (2021). Changes in climate drive recent monarch butterfly dynamics. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5(10), 1441-1452.
Covino, K. M., Horton, K. G., & Morris, S. R. (2020). Seasonally specific changes in migration phenology across 50 years in the Black-throated Blue Warbler. The Auk, 137(2), ukz080.
Ellis, V. A., Medeiros, M. C., Collins, M. D., Sari, E. H., Coffey, E. D., Dickerson, R. C., … & Matthews, A. E. (2017). Prevalence of avian haemosporidian parasites is positively related to the abundance of host species at multiple sites within a region. Parasitology research, 116(1), 73-80.
Corace, R. G., Korte, J. L., Shartell, L. M., & Kashian, D. M. (2016). Upland sandpiper: a flagship for jack pine barrens restoration in the Upper Midwest?. Ecological Restoration, 34(1), 49-60.
Ellis, V. A., Collins, M. D., Medeiros, M. C., Sari, E. H., Coffey, E. D., Dickerson, R. C., … & Matthews, A. E. (2015). Local host specialization, host-switching, and dispersal shape the regional distributions of avian haemosporidian parasites. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(36), 11294-11299.
Hamer, S. A., Hickling, G. J., Sidge, J. L., Rosen, M. E., Walker, E. D., & Tsao, J. I. (2011). Diverse Borrelia burgdorferi strains in a bird-tick cryptic cycle. Applied and environmental microbiology, 77(6), 1999-2007.
Please contact us for a complete publication list or if you are interested in viewing a historic publication.