The cover artwork of the 2024 Visitor Guide and event T-shirts was designed by Paul Riss for The Biggest Week in American Birding. The 2024 Logo of the Festival of Birds at Point Pelee National Park.

Two longer-term birding events take place to during peak songbird migration starting the first days of May, and running into mid-May: The Biggest Week in American Birding, which takes place in Ohio on the southwest shore of Lake Erie, and the Festival of Birding at Point Pelee National Park in Ontario, located on the northwest shore of Lake Erie! These exciting events are held annually at 2 of the premier birding locations in North America, essentially divided by a lake, and an international border, and they take place during the peak of songbird migration into the region!

The Biggest Week in American Birding takes place from May 3 to 12, officially, although the excitement of songbird migration through the area centered at McGee Marsh near Oak Harbor, Ohio begins in late April and extends through most of the month of May. Presented by the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, there are many other birding locations to visit in the area, and festival activities and workshops mostly center at the Maumee Bay Lodge and Convention Center. You learn more about The Biggest Week in American Birding at FAQs - BWIAB (biggestweekinamericanbirding.com) and BWIAB - Home (biggestweekinamericanbirding.com)

Just across Lake Erie, on the Canadian north shore you can check out what could be considered “the biggest birding weeks in Canada” at Point Pelee. Centering at Point Pelee National Park, a premier migration hotspot during spring and fall, the Festival of Birds takes place from May 1 to May 20. Located near Lemington, Ontario (about an hour east of Detroit), Point Pelee is a must visit location for any birders, so why not make it during the peak of spring migration! Learn more about the festival and Point Pelee at Festival Programs – Festival of Birds and Festival of Birds – Point Pelee National Park

Certainly there are many more exceptional birding hotspots across North America, as well as impressive birding festivals that take place during May, but these long-term events really capture the season in special ways!