Thanks to Cornell Labs two-week online Migration Celebration, I learned a lot this year about bird migration.
- While many birds make migration one long trip, some birds fly and stop somewhere for a few days before beginning their journey again
- With the Canada wildfires in summer 2023, some people are wondering if eBird reports will detect early migration for birds where their breeding grounds in Canada burned down.
- Some birds can take advantage of burned areas: Black-backed Woodpeckers and Three-toed Woodpeckers use burned stumps for nesting. With beetles taking over the burned stumps, woodpeckers have a ready food source.
Since their Visitor Center was closed for renovation this year, Cornell Labs turned to virtual events and an excellent list of birding resources for folks wanting to learn more about migration in their area.
One of the resources on their list is BirdCast, a free online tool I’ve enjoyed for over a year.
Using weather surveillance radar to gather information, BirdCast provides real-time predictions of bird migration.
It’s been a great help for me in understanding what migrating birds to expect in my area.
And when there are major movements of birds.
Last weekend, an estimated 2,000,000+ birds crossed our county traveling south.
eBird Status and Trends
From the Migration Celebration website, I learned about a new resource I hadn’t found before: eBird Status and Trends.
It’s a fascinating interactive site using statistical models and machine learning to create maps, statistics, and impressive visualizations for a specific bird species.
The site shares bird abundance, migratory journey, and range maps for your state or region around the world.
Bird Migration Q&A
One of my favorite webinars from this year’s Migration Celebration was Exploring Bird Migration: Your Questions Answered with Cornell Labs ornithologist Dr. Kevin J. McGowan.
A few things I learned (or was reminded of) from the webinar:
- Some birds don’t migrate, they stay in one location year-round. Because they can find enough food to keep them going through the winter. Example: chickadees.
- Migration is almost always about finding food
- Some birds migrate earlier than others is because their food supply runs out
- A change in the length of daylight is what prompts birds to migrate
- In some species, the time of migration is very predictable. But changes in weather and local conditions can affect migration time.
- Birds of a particular species don’t all leave at the same time. During fall migration, males typically leave before females. Generally adult birds leave first, followed by juveniles. Some people think that’s because juveniles need more time to fatten up before migrating. Example: Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in eastern United States. Males are usually gone by Labor Day in southeast Michigan. We’re still getting reports of female Ruby-throated Hummingbirds this week in southeast Michigan.
- Most migrating birds fly at night. Why? Fewer predators can catch birds at night. A relatively new discovery: birds use special pigments in their eye to “see” Earth’s magnetic fields to detect north from south.
Here’s the link to the one-hour captioned webinar:
