Imagine you are a tiny hummingbird, preparing to fly from New England south over the Gulf of Mexico to winter in Central America. What do you need to do to prepare?
On Wednesday, October 21, at 7PM, join the Chocorua Lake Conservancy for “Feathers in the Sky: An Exploration of Bird Migration,” a live online presentation via the Cook Memorial Library in Tamworth. Lynne Flaccus, CLC Stewardship Director and naturalist, will share the story of bird migration, focusing on our North American feathered friends that make their annual migrations from and through our backyards. Each year billions of birds wing their way across North America and south to their “winter homes,” then return in the spring. We’ll explore where they go and why, and how they find their way whether by day or by night.
The mysteries of migration have long been on the minds of naturalists and early scientists—speculations on where birds went for the winter were based on observation and often quite imaginative. Now scientists know that birds don’t wing off to far-away planets, or bury themselves in the mud of lakes or ponds for the winter, and that hummingbirds make their own way instead of hitching rides on the backs of eagles! Observation is complimented now with technology and hands-on studies—banding, radio telemetry, GPS tracking, satellite and radar—all adding to the wonder of these annual migrations.
We hope you’ll join us to learn about migration mysteries and the birds that make these seemingly herculean trips each year. Come with your questions and curiosity as we explore bird migration and think about ways we humans might help them on their way.
To access the talk, go to bit.ly/CLCfeathers on Wednesday, October 21, at 7PM. If you haven’t been on Zoom before, come on a little early and you will be prompted to download the software, or paste the link into your browser to do this anytime between now and the 21st. You can also find the live link at www.chocorualake.org and on the CLC Facebook events page. You probably won’t need to do this, but if prompted to, enter Meeting ID 829 1192 7740 and password 960921.
Banner: A female ruby-throated hummingbird gathers nectar from the tubular cardinal flower at Riverwood Farms Lake, Memphis, TN. Photo: Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash