Naturalist’s Corner - For the Birds

May is an amazing time to hike not just for the riot of flowers and plant life but also for the returning songbirds. Whether they stay or are just migrating through, the calls of these birds break the relative silence of our winter woods and prairies. 

Every night brings millions of migrating birds north to their nesting grounds. Birdcast, a website sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Colorado State University, and University of Massachusetts Amherst provides real time reports of migrations as well as 3 day forecasts. It’s pretty mind blowing to realize how large these migrations are.

We can help birds in these nightly migrations by being aware of how excess lighting at night makes it more difficult for our migratory bird populations. Birdcast recommends actions any of us can do to help the migrating birds at their website:

Turn off non-essential lights from 11 PM until 6 AM during critical migration periods.

• Turn off or dim lobby and atrium lights.
• Turn off or dim interior home lighting, or draw blinds to prevent light escaping.
• Turn off decorative landscape lighting.
• Turn off lights before leaving the home or office.
• Be sure outside lights are aimed down and well shielded.
• Install motion sensors on outside lights to minimize use.

While we love our over-wintering birds like bluejays, cardinals, chickadees and nuthatches, seeing the woods fill again with our migratory birds is delightful. It’s great to welcome back to the woods the eastern towhee, northern water thrush, Baltimore oriole, yellow-throated vireo and other familiar birds who will mate, nest and raise their young here

Right now the warbler migration is just beginning. These sprightly small birds migrate quickly through the Driftless area, primarily in May. Already I’ve seen and heard Nashville, blue-winged, palm and yellow warblers while birding friends have reported the rare prothonotary warblers in wetlands. There are many more warbler species that will be traveling through.

World Migratory Bird Day is coming up on Saturday May 11. It is held annually on the second Saturday in May. Take advantage of guided bird walks to discover and learn more about our migratory birds passing through (check this recent blog post for free birding events  in the Driftless this weekend).

And if you haven’t, please consider downloading and using  the Cornell Lab’s Merlin app as you hike. It helps even amateurs like me more easily identify and learn the songs and calls of birds in woods, prairies and wetlands. And to spot these sometimes elusive birds!