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Eric is an amateur birder and photographer who is amazed by the natural world just about every 24-hour interval.

Why do some birds fly south for the winter while others stay to brave the common cold and snow?

The Coming of Winter

In the northern reaches of the The states, just before the leaves start to fall, birds begin to flock together and ready for their annual migration southward. Birds that nosotros usually see alone or in small groups during summer months will gather with others of their kind, or often with those of other species. Waterfowl will besiege and class that well-known V pattern in the sky as they journey to warmer climes.

American robins vanish, not to return until the leap, reminding us that a long, common cold winter is bearing downward on u.s.a.. As ominous as the chant of some death knell, when the birds offset to leave nosotros know the sweet warmth of summer is but a retentiveness.

Simply not all birds fly due south. Some remain through the snowfall and the cold, and some species are even more abundant during the wintertime months. Why practise some birds fly south while others stay put? Why practice some appear to thrive in the snow? When birds migrate, where do they get, what do they do, and how practise they decide when information technology'south time to come back?

And how the heck do they know where they are going?

These are some of the things I ponder each winter every bit I sentinel the picayune blackness-capped chickadee dart around my birdfeeder, and wonder where the rose-breasted grosbeak has gone. So permit'southward find out why birds fly south for the winter!

The American robin is a migratory bird that is seen as a get-go sign of jump in many parts of North America.

Why Do Birds Fly South?

Information technology seems logical that the reason many birds spend the winter months in more pleasant, southern locations might have something to exercise with the warmth of the sun. This isn't exactly the case. Birds tin can and do survive extremely harsh winters. Like most migratory animals, the primary reason for moving is food.

In the summertime, food is abundant in northern climates because insects are active and plants and trees are flourishing. When it comes time to breed, birds want to be where they take the best shot at finding food for themselves and their chicks. When it becomes difficult or impossible to find food, it'southward time to go to warmer climates where food is nevertheless plentiful.

For case, in northeastern states, the American Robin will get in in the bound and exit sometime in the early on fall. Robins eat worms, beetles, grubs, and other such insects, which they aren't going to find in the cold and snow. You'll never see a robin at your bird feeder; they volition not eat foods that sustain some other birds. They need to fly south, or they will starve.

Ducks, geese, and other waterfowl are other good examples. Their lakes and ponds freeze, making it extremely difficult to survive in their intended surround. To find adequate food, escape predation, and maintain their healthy quality of life they'll move on to warmer climates. They fly in that 5 pattern to conserve energy, and to amend communication between birds. However, sometimes waterfowl are known to overwinter in common cold climates when they are overfed by humans.

How Do Birds Know When it Is Time to Fly South?

Scientists say birds likely have an innate response to the reduction in daylight hours, signaling to them that wintertime is almost and they'd better get moving. This is why, no matter how much you stock your bird feeder, many bird species are going to head s just the same. The verbal day they start their journeying will be influenced past local weather patterns, only it is the daylight that gives them the signal to migrate.

The rose-breasted grosbeak will fly south for the wintertime, and may drift every bit far as South America.

Why Do Some Birds Stay Through the Winter?

Some birds don't seem to heed the winter. The blackness-capped chickadee, northern cardinal, blue jay, tufted titmouse, and others will brave the near cruel cold and snow. Feathers are pretty skilful insulators, and most birds could make it through a harsh wintertime if they had to.

Then if bravery isn't the reason birds stay through the winter, what is? Once again, the reason is their diet. Some birds don't need to rely on the enough of summer. They can fodder for insects in the bawl of trees and find enough nutrient to go far through the cold, nighttime months. In fact, in some areas, even the American robin is known to stick effectually through the winter months, if it can discover enough food.

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Other birds actually go more plentiful in wintertime. The dark-eyed junco is an example of a bird that will happily inhabit areas other birds accept vacated in the wintertime months. In the Northeastern United states, Juncos volition move downwards from their breeding grounds in Canada to overwinter in a comparatively milder climate.

If a bird is of a species that can find food in the wintertime, it has no need to migrate. Well-stocked bird feeders may assist some species during periods of exceptionally harsh atmospheric condition, but otherwise, the birds that stay through the snow and water ice will know how to find plenty food to survive.

The dark-eyed junco spends its winters in the United States and migrates to Canada for the summer months.

Where Do Birds Get When They Fly South?

When the birds get out the northern states, where do they go, and how practice they know how to get there? Many migrating birds find their fashion to United mexican states or Florida, overwintering in tropical climes. Others merely need climates where the food is abundant enough to sustain them.

How practise migrating birds know where they are going?

Remarkably, birds seem to possess innate knowledge that helps them to negotiate their long migrations. They are believed to navigate by the dominicus during the 24-hour interval, and the moon and the stars at night.

There is likewise some research that says they are aware of magnetic fields in the earth and utilize them to find their way. Information technology'south a kind of internal GPS, and i of the more impressive abilities in the brute kingdom.

The next question is i you may ask of people who move to Florida in the wintertime: Why do they come back? Of class, we can't speak for the people, only for the birds, once again, it'south hardwired into their systems. When daylight hours begin to lengthen, birds know it'due south future back to their convenance grounds.

Similar many animal behaviors, the whole ordeal is naturally designed to facilitate the survival of the species through procreation.

The blueish jay sticks it out through the snowy winter .

The Amazing Bird Migrations

Birds are everywhere. They're like shooting fish in a barrel to take for granted, simply they really are wonders of nature. The deeper one digs into their behaviors the more than interesting they go. This article dealt with North American birds, but in that location are some amazing bird facts from around the earth.

For case: Did you lot know the bar-tailed godwit migrates from China to New Zealand in one flight, a distance of over five,500 miles?

That'south crazy!

Now you know a lilliputian more than about why birds wing due south, what they do when they get there, and why some are brave enough to stay through the winter.

Resources and Further Reading

As e'er, the following resources were fundamental in the creation of this article:

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• National Audubon Society

This content is accurate and truthful to the best of the author's noesis and is non meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

Just a student on May 06, 2019:

I'm using this for a research paper. This made it a lot easier. Kudos to you.

Eric Dockett (author) from USA on Nov 20, 2015:

Thanks Kristen!

Kristen Howe from Northeast Ohio on Nov 19, 2015:

Eric, this was a real interesting hub on bird migration in the wintertime. I actually enjoyed information technology and learned some adept facts virtually it. Thanks for sharing.

Eric Dockett (author) from USA on October 23, 2015:

Thank yous Suhail, and to your dog as well. :-)

Suhail Zubaid aka Clark Kent from Mississauga, ON on October 22, 2015:

Very educating indeed. I liked the manner you wrote it.

Hope to read many more from y'all!

sanabriagaill1942.blogspot.com

Source: https://owlcation.com/stem/Why-Some-Birds-Fly-South-for-the-Winter-and-Others-Do-Not

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