Helping Our Migratory Birds
HOW TO HELP OUR SPRING BIRDS IN MIGRATION
After our tough winter, it sure is wonderful to know that songbirds are arriving back north in the spring migration. It’s a long and challenging journey for them! Here are a few important steps we can take to make it successful:
- Keep cats indoors. Cats kill an estimated two billion North American birds each year;
- Avoid use of unnecessary outdoor lights. Where needed, use lights that do not shine skyward, or use motion sensor lights;
- Provide a bird bath; be sure to change the water at least every three days, to keep it fresh and to prevent mosquito growth.
Over 14 million birds have already migrated northward across Delaware County this spring! Take a look at the daily ‘migration dashboard’ at www.birdcast.org. You can find it under ‘migration tools’ on that website, at the dashboard for our county. You’ll see that many birds, including Scarlet Tanagers, Warblers, Indigo Buntings, Gnatcatchers and Flycatchers cross our county, migrating at night; feeding and resting in our area during the day on their amazing journeys!