Possible Migration Routes Through Maine by Vernal Migrants

In this study we evaluate the possibility of two routes of migration into the state of Maine. The first possible route would be for migrants to continue along the coast, north of the Maine/New Hampshire border, and later swinging inland across the interior. The second path is for migrants who come up the east coast and straight into Maine, spreading across the state as they move north. In order to evaluate these possible routes we utilize a citizen-science project that measures the spring arrival dates of migrants according to the biophysical regions of Maine (Wilson 2007). Independent t-Tests and maps indicate that there is a trend of birds continuing along the coast before moving inland; six of the nine species show this pattern. Of the nine birds studied, only the eastern phoebe showed a significant trend of moving directly inland and moving across the state. Two birds show non-significant patterns of migration which could indicate insufficient data, or random migration patterns. The results are not conclusive because several of the biophysical regions have less reporting, and so the relationships among regions regarding arrival dates are skewed. Continued data collection and analysis is recommended.