This special guest blog was written by Jeanne Dubi, president of Sarasota Audubon Society.
Here on Florida’s Gulf Coast, birders eagerly await both spring and fall migrations. In my backyard in April, I scan the trees and shrubs for any movement. Sometimes it is quiet, but sometimes it’s an explosion of activity. Typically, from about 9 to 10 am, if the winds have been favorable blowing in from the Gulf, the trees are alive with migrants dropping in for a rest and a feed. I look for flashes of color; male warblers are sporting their most stunning plumage in spring. I spot a Blackburnian Warbler, with its flame-colored throat and striking flash of white in the wings. It’s a WOW bird and my FOS (first of the season) Blackburnian. I am thrilled.
Many birds move to their breeding grounds in spring, and then return to their non-breeding (i.e., wintering) grounds in fall. (Some birds do not migrate. In Florida, think of your backyard mockingbirds and cardinals). So, it is the movement of birds to and from their breeding grounds that account for “migration”.
Florida is on the Atlantic flyway, one of four major funnels for migrants. Most migrants spend their winters in Central and South America, as well as around the Caribbean and Gulf basins. Many fly directly over the Gulf, a trip of up to 600 miles, and others island hop throughout the Caribbean.
Some birds fly directly to their breeding grounds and others stage their migration routes. How about Bristle-thighed Curlews that breed in northern Alaska and commonly fly 8000+ miles non-stop from Alaska to New Zealand! Bobolinks, a grassland bird that breeds in the upper tier of the US and Canadian prairies, take several months to fly from their wintering grounds in South America stopping for weeks along the way. Their migration is timed to take advantage of maturing grass seeds along their route. We have a good example here in Sarasota of Bobolinks arriving around mid-April and staying until the end of May before heading northward.
Declining Bird Populations
So, in the end, migration patterns are all over the map! But what is a hard fact is the serious decline in bird populations. In the last 50 years or so, it is estimated by scientists that between 3 and 5 billion birds have disappeared in North America. During the same period, the human population of the US has increased by over 100 million! The biggest contributor to these massive declines in birds is loss of habitat. To accommodate the expanding human population, housing has crept out beyond the suburbs into the farmlands and rural areas, seriously eroding wildlife habitat.
What We Can Do
There are ways all of us can help though. 1) Transform our backyards into a wildlife zone by planting native plants and flowers. Why native plants? Because over thousands of years, birds have adapted to the native vegetation around them. Newly introduced exotic plants, although beautiful, have very little nutritional value to birds, butterflies and other insects. Don’t know what to plant? Your local Audubon center or native plant nursery can help. 2) If you do not have a yard or are unable to garden, then become a member and donate to an environmental organization – they are fighting the fight and need your dollars to continue their vital work.
How Sarasota Audubon is Helping Vulnerable Migrants in Our Area
At Sarasota Audubon, we are targeting five species of birds and two species of bats taken from the Florida State Wildlife Action Plan as Species of Greatest Conservation Need. As we work to develop the Quad Parcels, we will be creating migrant stopover habitat for Kentucky, Worm-eating, Prothonotary, and Golden-winged Warblers, as well as Wood Thrushes. Two species of bats caught our attention. We think we can help them: Northern Yellow Bat and Southeastern Myotis.
Helping stop the decline of vulnerable species means that we can all enjoy spring and fall migrations well into the future.
