Each spring, over 5 billion birds migrate to North American breeding grounds, one of nature’s most spectacular and observable mass movements. Drawing on 25 years’ experience banding birds with Massachusetts Audubon, Maine Master Naturalist Frank Dehler will give a behind-the-scenes look at how a migratory banding station works and explain the importance of the data it collects for understanding the timing of songbird migration. How (and why) does that timing differ species to species, and is it being affected by climate change? What can banding tell us about individual longevity and how young birds learn?
Frank will focus on the migratory strategies of the wood-warblers, a closely related family of songbirds that are one of the most noteworthy examples of “adaptive radiation” among vertebrates—and also among the most photogenic birds imaginable! We will hone skills for identifying warblers and other related species, learn about their different migratory patterns, and develop a better appreciation for these miniature “crown jewels” of the living tapestry in motion overhead.
This will be a 1.5-hour presentation in the Community Room at York Land Trust. It is free and open to the public with registration. Register here.
Photos by Frank Dehler.