Breeding is Finished and Fall Bird Migration is Underway in the North
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Posted by Rosemary Drisdelle Sep 7, 2008 |
It’s still summer, but many bird species have finished breeding and molting, and are moving south to their winter ranges. Birds that have nested farther south will have arrived first and bred earlier, so they’ll be the first to go—areas they vacate will then receive waves of migrants passing through from further north. Bird watchers along coastlines see many shorebirds at this time of year
Birds tend to wait for good weather and wind that blows in the right direction, then many individuals will depart at once, arriving at their next stop in a wave. When you notice there are many birds about, there are likely to be migrants among them that you don’t see at other times of the year, and flocks may contain mixed species. Along major flyways, you may see dozens of species in a single day of bird watching.
Many bird species migrate at night, and spend days feeding and resting. Thus, there can be relatively few birds about one day, and many the next. If they’ve come a long way or encountered harsh conditions, they’re likely to stay around for a few days, replacing lost fat stores and waiting for the right weather conditions to move on again. Keep an eye on bird feeders, berry bushes, and other places where birds feed. You may see something unusual.
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