Archive for the 'Migration' Category
The sight of a half million whirling creatures of any kind at one time and place is a dramatic and interesting experience.
A remarkable wildlife spectacle has unfolded in recent years on one small island on the Tennessee River. A hundred yards or so on the downstream side of the Wheeler Dam, hundreds of thousands of purple martins are using this small acre-size island to congregate in a large flock prior to their fall migration. Some estimates of this roost run as high as a half million.
Each evening about sunset, martins from all over the region can be seen flying toward this island and dam. As they arrive, they first perch by the thousands on power lines crossing the Tennessee River. Between sunset and dusk, still more thousands approach from up and down the river. On and on they come until just in the twilight of dusk they all make a wild flight to perch on small trees on the island. For a few spectacular minutes, the air is full of half a million swirling, chattering frantic birds. Soon, most of the limbs on the island’s trees begin to bend from the weight of birds perching wing-to-wing. As darkness falls, the flock quiets. Here they will stay until dawn when they will disperse into the surrounding area to forage for insects. During congregation and dispersal the concentration of these birds is so dense they can regularly be seen on local weather radar.
This will be repeated each night for about three weeks in August, until the flock leaves to begin their long migration to their wintering grounds in Central and South America.
Woodpeckers are great birds to have in your backyard because they generally do not migrate and normally stay in the same area year-round. It is easy to become attached to the woodpeckers because the same family will usually stay in your area.
Woodpeckers literally eat thousands of insects a day. They are great for getting rid of wasps, ants, flies and spiders from your yard. The best way to attract woodpeckers is with suet. Hang suet feeders or spread suet on the side of trees. You can even place suet feeders in areas of your yard that have pests such as ants or spiders.
Planting berry bushes around your backyard will encourage woodpeckers to stay in your area. They also like to have at least one rotting log to claim as their own. The absolute key to woodpecker feeding areas is to make sure that there is plenty of space for them to perch. If they cannot perch, they will not feed in your yard.
The Northern Flicker is one of the few North American woodpeckers that is strongly migratory. Flickers in the northern parts of the range move south for the winter, although a few individuals often stay rather far north.
Birdbaths are an essential addition to your backyard. Now that migration is starting, water will help draw a variety of migrating birds to stop in your backyard. If you have developed an adequate bird sanctuary with food, water and shelter with trees and shrubs, some of the migrating birds will actually stay in your backyard while others will continue their migration to warmer climates.
To further create your winter habitat, heated bird baths are a must. It is very easy to accomplish this with a heating element that can be positioned in the bird bath or buy a bird bath with the unit built-in. Can you imagine the joy of the birds when they find some fresh water on a cold winter day! Yes, they can peck at snow for water but heating this up in their bodies uses a lot energy best used to keep warm. Place bird baths in view of a window from your home to watch the interactions and play of the birds. The show is guaranteed to brighten dull winter days.
Birds, like moths, are attracted to light at night and if they become disoriented, will fly in circles around the lights in a tall building, often hitting the building, or dropping exhausted to the ground. The phenomenon is not understood by scientists, but a researcher at the Bell Museum in Minneapolis, along with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, is spearheading a program to turn off the lights to protect migrating birds. Participants in the programs, including the owners, tenants, and management companies from 32 buildings Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, and Rochester, will dim their building lights during the spring and fall bird migration seasons. Similar programs are in place in Toronto, New York, and Chicago. Adding the Minnesota cities is important, said Bell Museum ornithologist Bob Zink, because they are located along the Mississippi River flyway, a major thoroughfare for migrating birds. In addition to lowering the light in the night migration routes, researchers are also trying to determine why birds fly into some buildings at a much higher rate than others.
In Minneapolis, 67 percent of the bird kills were caused by just two of the city’s skyscrapers.
(Info from an article in Live Science)
Backyard birding is especially interesting during migration times — in the spring when birds are in their bright courtship plumage and males are lustily singing and in the fall as northern hemisphere migrants head back south. What causes them to migrate? It’s been shown that, at least in some birds, changes in day length cause glands in the birds’ bodies to produce hormones that produce profound changes inside the birds, changes that prepare them for the flight south. In the fall, as days grow shorter, fat accumulates under the skin. This fat contains energy needed for those coming days when the birds will be spending more energy flying than they will be eating during their occasional rests. Weather changes sometimes trigger a migration’s start, but by then the birds are already prepared.
It is especially important to have bird feeders and bird baths filled in your backyard during these migration periods. The birds will really appreciate finding food and water after spending so much energy flying. They may just take a break and let you enjoy them for a little while!
Southward migration time is here which makes it very important to have your hummingbird feeder ready and available for your current residents and also the many visitors that will stop by to refuel before continuing their journey south. If you live in an area that stays warm year-round, the hummingbirds may not migrate at all.
Use the same area to hang your hummingbird feeder and make sure it has shade during the day to keep the solution from evaporating. A reachable bottom branch of a backyard tree or under your patio is perfect. A constant food source in the same location of your backyard will ensure many hummingbirds.
Hummingbird feeder maintenance is very important. Any mixture of sugar and water will ferment and host the growth of mold spores. To avoid these problems the mixture must be discarded at least every 3-4 days — more frequently in high temperatures. Always clean a feeder thoroughly before refilling. A wash of vinegar and water using a bottle brush will do this job.
Never use honey in attracting hummingbirds. The use of honey can cause a fatal fungal infection on the hummingbirds’ tongues. Do not use red coloring in the sugar water solution. Some red on the hummingbird feeder will adequately attract the birds.
Sugar solution should be made in your own kitchen. Simply bring 4 cups of tap water to a near boil and slowly dissolve 1 cup of pure granulated white sugar into the near boiling water, keep stirring until the water is clear. Remove from heat and let cool several hours or overnight. Store any leftover in the refrigerator up to a week.
Attract these fast flying, acrobatic, fighting and on the constant hunt for sugar solution little hummers to enhance your backyard birding.
The interaction between man and martin dates all the way back to the Native Americans. To this day, the bubbly personality and gurgling song of the Purple Martin is cherished by those that host them. Each spring brings on an excitement that only a Purple Martin landlord can experience as they anxiously anticipate the return of their beloved martins.
If you are establishing a new colony, wait for the arrival of the sub-adults who tend to arrive 3-6 weeks after the mature adult martins return to established breeding sites. Waiting to open your housing will prevent problems with sparrows, starlings and other birds. If birds other than Purple Martins try to nest in your house, lower the house and remove the nest – temporarily plugging the entry holes if necessary to keep them from returning.
The location of your purple martin birdhouse is very important because the martins are looking for safety and security. Raise the house the full extent of your pole (typically 10-15 feet) and keep the house at least 40 feet away from trees. Tall trees harbor predators such as hawks and having trees taller than the housing in close proximity will afford those predators cover. Martins are aware of this and therefore, stay away from such situations. A location between 40-120 feet from your own home works well as does the center of an open spot or the edge of a pond or lake. They need very open and unobstructed flight paths. Martins actually want to be near you!
Use purple martin decoys – Martins are social and decoys create the appearance of site activity. Adult martins use “dawnsinging” to attract young martins to their colony site so the playing of the Dawn Song CD one or two hours before dawn is recommended but can be played any time of the day. If at first you don’t see martins, don’t despair. Migration lasts through the end of June. Be diligent, and keep your house well maintained. Also, keep your house up through August. While this is too late to attract nesting pairs, this year’s fledglings will already be scouting for next season.
(More info on Purple Martins to come)
