Birds are on the move!

Mornings at Panther Island are often confusing at this time of year. No...it isn't because I don't know what I am doing, it is because of all the birds passing through! Fall migration is upon us, and the woods and swamps come even more alive as winter residents settle in and others pass through.

What exactly is migration? Migration, as it pertains to birds here, is used to describe the movements of populations of birds. There are in fact multiple types of migration that I'll refrain from going into. In the Eastern United States and Canada, migrating birds use the Atlantic Flyway. There are four major flyways of north America: Pacific, Central, Mississippi, and Atlantic.

(From birding.about.com/od/birdingbasics/ss/North-America-Migration-Flyways.htm)

Over the next few entries, I will go into more detail about flyways and the birds that use them as well as conservation needs and what you can do to help our feathered friends along their journeys!

An American white pelican flying over Panther Island. An example of a migrant bird species.