The annual autumn migration is well under way all across this great big planet. From the mammoth Humpback Whale swimming along the Pacific Coast to the delicate and dainty Monarch Butterfly on its annual flight to Mexico. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming the Elk are moving down and out of the mountains to spend the winter at lower elevations to the march of the Emperor Penguins in Antarctic, this ancient need to migrate is well underway.
All across the Northland many backyard bird watchers are noticing an increase presence of small woodland hawks in their yards. The annual migration of these birds brings hundreds of thousands of these diurnal raptors into backyards where they are looking for a quick bite to eat before returning to their migratory activity.
The tall and stately Sandhill Crane is gathering right now in groups of up to several thousand birds before heading south for the winter. Unlike the hawks that don’t migrate in large flocks, Sandhill Cranes revel in their large numbers. During daylight hours, small groups of cranes fly out to plowed agricultural fields to forage for large insects and spilled grain or corn. Come evening thousands will gather, their trumpeting calls filling the air as it has for millions of years, in wet meadows or shallow ponds to spend the night. They depend upon the relative safety of the water and the huge number of eyes to watch for predators such as foxes and coyote.
A few lucky people have some unusual visitors to their feeders right now during migration. Harris’s Sparrows are showing up under feeders scratching for seeds. These handsome brown and tan sparrows have a black crest, face, chin and upper chest. They nest in the far reaches of Canada and are heading for Texas for the winter. Those lucky enough to have them visit will only see them for a couple days before they continue on their way south.
Some of our favorite backyard songbirds such as the Rose-breasted Grosbeak are long distance migratos. They leave our backyards and head for the tropical regions of Central and South America. Unlike the raptors these birds migrate at night. Just before sunset, the birds take flight and will fly all night using a combination of the stars, major land forms such as large rivers and the natural magnetic pull of the earth’s poles to guide these birds on their amazing journey. The champion of these tiny migrants is the Black-pole Warbler. They are a tiny warbler that look like a cross between a Black-capped chickadee and a Black-and-white Warbler.
The Blackpoll nests in the northern conifer forests of Canada and Alaska. Each autumn it starts its famous long migration by heading eastward to the Atlantic coast between Nova Scotia and Virginia. From there they stage and begin to feed heavily to build fat reserves. Then when the weather conditions are just right they embark on a 1,600 mile non-stop flight to the West Indies while others fly 2,200 miles non-stop to parts of South America. Birds trapped for banding in the staging area just before heading out weight 9 grams (the weight of three pennies). Bird physiologists have determined that the 4.5 grams of extra fat on the Blackpoll is enough to fuel a non-stop flight to the West Indies or South America.
They start their journey at sunset and fly all night when the upper level winds tend to be less turbulent. It will take them up to three days of non stop flying to reach their destination. Some birds will rest in Bermuda which is along the flight path while others may take a break on ships. Birds without enough fat presumably will run out of energy and fall into the ocean and die. And you thought your daily commute to work was tough. Come next spring they will return to start the cycle all over again. Until next time…