Coolest birds of 2025

Our BirdWeather sensor records hundreds of feathered visitors each season — some familiar, others delightfully unexpected. From deep-forest travelers to ocean wanderers, these are a few of the coolest birds we’ve heard between the pines in 2025.

A flash of scarlet among the loblollies, this striking songbird is more at home in mountain hardwoods than on a barrier island. When its flute-like notes drift through the courtyard, it’s as if the mainland’s canopy has come to visit.

Small, swift, and fierce, the Merlin is a falcon with attitude. It streaks over the property like a jet, scattering smaller birds in its wake — a thrilling reminder that even our peaceful pine grove lies on a wild migratory highway.

The Refuge Inn sits right between the bay and the beach, so it’s no surprise that the winds carry a few salty voices inland. But the variety is something special:

• Whimbrel – graceful and long-billed, its bubbling call carries far on the wind.

• Black-bellied Plover – a dapper visitor in crisp black and white during migration.

• Ruddy Turnstone – patterned like beach pebbles, always on the move, often seen enjoying an all-you-can-eat feast while sitting inside horseshoe crabs that have washed ashore. 

• Short-billed Dowitcher – a rapid probe-feeder whose soft chatter often signals migration peaks.

• Royal, Caspian & Least Terns – each elegant in flight, from the stately Royal to the tiny, sharp-winged Least. You can often see these guys perched on the edge of the Assateague bridge, scoping out the channel for their dinner.

• Laughing, Ring-billed & Herring Gulls – familiar voices that really bring that "beach vacation" vibe right to our doorstep.

Warblers are the jewels of spring and fall migration, and these three are among the most dazzling to pass through our property this year. Each paused here only briefly, making their songs some of the most treasured moments of the year.

• Blackpoll Warbler – tiny but mighty, flying thousands of miles nonstop over the Atlantic.

• Black-throated Blue Warbler – a sapphire flash in the pines, quiet but unforgettable.

• Magnolia Warbler – bold and yellow, darting through sunlit branches like a spark of joy.

Each paused here only briefly, making their songs some of the most treasured moments of the year.

Silky, sleek, and social, Cedar Waxwings travel in gentle, whispering flocks, feeding on berries and filling the air with their soft, glassy calls. Their visits feel like a blessing of beauty and calm before the turn of the season. We had thousands of recordings of waxwings this year, so they are a common resident among the Refuge Pines.

 

Our BirdWeather detector runs around the clock, quietly capturing every chirp, trill, and whistle that makes up the Inn’s natural soundtrack. From tanagers to terns, these sounds remind us that The Refuge Inn isn’t just near the refuge — it is one.

See what’s singing now at BirdWeather Refuge Inn.