Still watching and waiting for the first orioles? Thanks to David Aborn of the University of Southern Mississippi for this week's Weather Forecast for the Birds which you'll find below. Migrating ruby throated hummingbirds have now moved into Tennessee, according to reports you'll read below. Just Think! These tiny birds weigh less than a U.S. nickel and the eggs they'll soon lay will be no bigger than jelly beans.
Conservation & the Habitat Trail to Your Backyard
When you're on a long car trip and you're tired and hungry, what do you watch for? McDonald's golden arches or the D.Q.? Migratory songbirds travelling across the Gulf of Mexico have insects, seeds or nectar on their minds--but most of all they're looking for a place to rest. After flying for hundreds of miles, they reach the U. S. coast looking for food, shelter and a place to rest their weary muscles.
People involved with the Gulf Coast Bird Observatory Network are working to conserve critical stopover habitat for trans-Gulf migrants. A narrow strip of land called the Chenier Plain extends along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. It is considered one of the most important habitats on the North American continent for migratory birds. This coastal habitat can mean the difference between life and death for weary songbirds. Just as the name implies, stopover habitat is used for only a short period of time-- sometimes for only a few hours each year! Nevertheless, many migrants couldn't complete their life cycle without it. Imagine all the habitat needed along the trail of songbirds coming to your backyard.
Think about extended car trips you have taken. Did you ever get lost or run out of gas? What made the trip fun and comfortable? What caused problems? Share stories with other students in your class about car trips you have taken. Then, as a class, work together to answer this Challenge Question:
Challenge Question # 91
"In what ways is a migration like a long car trip?"
To answer this Challenge Question please follow the instructions at the end of this report.
Dear Students:
As predicted, the cold front I mentioned last week moved through this area over the weekend. At our study site in coastal Louisiana there was an increase in the number of birds that were being seen and captured. In particular, there were big increases in the numbers of Tennessee Warblers, Prothonotary Warblers, and White-eyed Vireos. Here in Hattiesburg, I have seen Solitary Vireos, Wood Thrushes, Prairie Warblers, Summer Tanagers, White-eyed Vireos, and hummingbirds. I love this time of year. No Northern Orioles yet, but they usually don't show up down here until the end of April.
There is another cold front that is scheduled to pass through this coming weekend. Again, the north winds that will follow the front should make it difficult for birds to fly, forcing them to land. Look forward to reports from migration watchers talking about the kaleidoscope of birds they saw.
At our Louisiana study site, one of Dr. Frank Moore's graduate students is studying the impact migrants have on the insect populations at stopover sites. Insect control is one of the great benefits humans enjoy from having migrants passing through and breeding in North America. As a project, you may want to find warblers and vireos and count how many insects they eat in 15 minutes. Then you can figure out how many insects they eat all day, and then try to figure out how many insects these birds eat between now and the time they migrate south in August. I think you will see that if it weren't for migratory birds, our trees would have a lot fewer leaves on them. Until next week...! David A. Aborn (daborn@whale.st.usm.edu)
Hummingbird Observations
The Following Migration Sightings Were Collected by the Volunteers of the National Birding Hotline Cooperative:
From TENNESSEE:
April 12,14,15, 1996
The first RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD was seen on April 12th in Joelton,
northwest of Nashville. Another, a male, was seen on the 13th in
Hendersonville.
April 14, 1996
From Northeast Tennessee on the 14th comes a report of a male RUBY-
THROATED HUMMINGBIRD in Holston Valley (NE of Johnson City),
Sullivan County. At Radnor Lake, Nashville, a RUBY-THROATED
HUMMINGBIRD arrived on the 14th.
April 15. 1996
A RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD was seen in a Nashville yard on the 15th.
How to Respond to Challenge Question # 91
1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #91.
3. In the Body of your message, answer this question:
"In what ways is a migration like a long car trip?"
The Next Northern Oriole Migration Update Will be Posted on April 25, 1996.
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