![]() They must avoid predatory hawks and cats and other dangers and they have to travel quickly in order to be first in line to claim a good nesting site. ![]() Migration is hazardous to birds: They travel through weather changes and turbulent storms and they need to find food at every stop, in unfamiliar surroundings. They're all rushing to reach northern places where they'll find a mate and raise their young. Like the oriole and redstart, billions - yes, billions - of other songbirds left countries like Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Belize, Mexico and the southern United States earlier this year. (By the time they arrive, two other large groups of migratory birds - ducks and shorebirds - have already passed through.) The redstart arrived a few days later, claiming a nest territory on the edge of a small woods. The oriole reached Minnesota on May 4, perching in a tall cottonwood along a lake to sing his exuberant spring song. One night in February, the oriole lifted into the sky to begin his long journey northward, and the redstart set off in March. Changes in hormones and the weight gain made both birds restless. And a Baltimore oriole flashed through trees along the Panama Canal all winter long, dropping into fruiting trees to feed.Īnd then, sometime in January, subtle external cues begin to cause internal changes within the birds' bodies: They began to eat more, putting on weight for the coming arduous flights ahead. That is where the great importance of your backyard bird feeders comes into play! By feeding the right foods this winter, you can make the lives of winter birds much easier.An American redstart, a warbler resembling a small Baltimore oriole, spent last winter in Belize, feasting on insects. In order to keep up this warmth though, the birds must eat a great deal of fat-rich food to generate the necessary heat. In a very short time, the air warms and the birds are wrapped in a blanket of cold-busting heat. To create insulation, our warm-blooded bird buddies fluff up their feathers and create their own little air pockets in between them. When you're cozy and settled in, the down traps your body heat into little pockets of comfy warmth. Think of yourself in a puffy down coat or under a big down comforter. Many of you may be wondering how these birds are able to stay warm in the near-freezing temps and sometimes ceaseless winds that winter brings. Below is a list of many of the commonly seen birds of winter that will frequent backyards throughout the country during the snowy season: The menagerie of winter bird species can vary and change depending on where you live, what your yard looks like and how the weather is acting. One is bound to wonder, “Who are these resilient birds, and how the heck do they survive the seemingly near arctic tundra of the winter season?” Only the heartiest of colder climate wild birds, which have evolved for winter weather, have stayed behind. When the winter snow starts falling in many parts of the country, some backyard birds have already departed for warmer climates, while other birds are migrating into backyards from further north. Winter migration and the backyard birds that stay behind can raise many questions about how a bird survives such journeys and temperatures.
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