Birds That Migrated South May Be In Danger

[Donna]

   
January 11, 2010
 
DRYDEN -- The recent cold spell along the East Coast has been wreaking havoc on nature.  Some birds that migrated south for the winter may be in trouble
     "Winter is always a stressful time for birds," said David Bonter, assistant director of citizen science at Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology.
     Bonter says birds that stay in our area during winter don't eat insects, so they should be fine.
     "These birds are pretty tough little creatures, so they're well suited for surviving our coldest winters here in Western New York," said Bonter.
    But if you're still worried about our winged friends, there is something you can do to make it through winter a little easier.  Bonter says there's good evidence to show birds that go to backyard bird feeders are doing well.
     But insect-eating birds that have migrated south this winter may have a problem.
     Bonter explained, "In the middle of the winter, if the food supply runs dry, they do continue to move, but migrating is very costly.  Birds have to put on a good layer of fat to fuel their migratory flight."
     And they already bulked up for months before they left Central New York.
     So will this cold snap force birds to fly even further south?  Bonter says the trend over the past decade shows birds are actually migrating north because of mild temperatures, but...
     "If we had a series of very severe winters, their populations would obviously be pushed down south again," said Bonter.

     If you set up a bird feeder, Bonter recommends using blackoil sunflower seeds.