We've been seeing more and more FOS (First-of-Spring) reports of Black-headed Grosbeaks throughout California, so we thought we'd look into it. And yes, they're hitting the state big-time right now. And what a lucky sighting this is to get. The male Black-headed Grosbeak is a real stunner with its black, white and cinnamon coloring -- and all the singing. The birds we're seeing in the Pacific Flyway now are coming up from southern Mexico, where they've spent the winter. They'll spend the spring and summer from California all the way up to into southern Canada. Check out the maps below to see they're arrival in clear detail:

Just for comparison's sake, here's an eBird map from February of this year. Note much happening:

But by the end of March, we were starting to see a lot of Black-headed Grosbeaks:

And now, just 12 days into April, the birds are completely going off. Gotta love spring:

photo by Dave Menke/USFWS