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Nikon and The Brevard Nature Alliance present the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival Brevard Community College, Titusville Campus 1311 North U.S. Highway 1, Titusville January 23 - 28, 2008 -- Titusville, Florida A celebration of birds and wildlife. |
Migration of wild birds is arguably one of the most exciting and awe-inspiring spectacles in the world today. Anyone fortunate enough to witness a protracted movement of 100,000 seabirds in a single November day near Cape May NJ, or stand in awe under 400,000 Broad-winged Hawks in one day in Veracruz, Mexico, will attest to an indescribable emotion that touches the core of our very being.
Standing silent with eyes skyward and mouths agape while deafening calls of countless Snow Geese or other flocking birds fly past may well rekindle primal feelings that our ancestors experienced thousands of years ago, as these familiar migrants continue to warmer winter locations. I have personally felt unexplained emptiness in late fall after realizing that migration has subsided, and birds that I have been enjoying for months have left me behind to undertake dangerous journeys to wild, unknown locations.
Migration is basically any regular movement of creatures between geographic areas, typically between breeding and nonbreeding sites. Most birds in North America migrate in some capacity, although distance traveled varies greatly. Some move only short distances each year to preferred nesting habitats, and spend winter months anywhere from a few miles to several hundred miles away in more productive feeding areas. Others cross several continents and fly over 18,000 miles each year in their bi-annual migrations, much of it over vast ocean waters.
Because of relatively light weight due to hollow bone structure, and evolution of aerodynamically advanced feathered wing design, birds are able to fly long distances during migratory periods. While flight patterns within their breeding and wintering grounds might appear graceful and almost effortless, long distance migration often requires physiological changes that stagger our imaginations. Some birds actually double their body weight by non-stop feeding of several weeks to a month, and use this fat reserve to carry them on unbelievable non-stop journeys.
Can you imagine doubling your body weight by continuously eating for several weeks and then migrating over six thousand miles over four days without stopping, burning up all that extra weight without benefit of food, water or sleep! This type of physiological feat, performed each year by Bar-tailed Godwits, approaches miracle status, and is well beyond human physical abilities or comprehension.
While all migration involves regular movements between different locations, there are a surprising number of different types of migration. On a broad scale, about half the species of birds (around 338 species) in 37 North American families migrate each year to tropical locations south of the Tropic of Cancer for the winter. These are considered long-distance neo-tropical migrants. The rest either complete short to mid-range movements or do not migrate at all.
The most widely known type of migration occurs on a seasonal basis, where individuals arrive on the breeding grounds in spring and travel to warmer climates at the end of their breeding cycles. Seasonal migration can either be complete, where virtually the entire population migrates; or partial, where only part of the population migrates, depending upon food supply and climatic factors. Other types of migration are explained, with specific examples, in my talk, 'Birds on the Wind: The Miracle of Migration.'
Life in the Balance
Over generations, birds have formed a tenuous balance with nature regarding reproductive success versus death that occurs during migration. In our rapidly changing world, this balance has been seriously compromised by unabated development and continued loss of critical breeding and migratory habitats. It is our job as stewards of our land to protect the health and balance of our world by understanding these types of natural phenomena and enacting safeguards from irresponsible growth and development. Our world is a wonderful, fascinating place to live, and deserving of our protection for future generations.
2008 Festival Articles
2008 Keynote Speakers
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