{"id":6605,"date":"2019-09-04T20:34:37","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T20:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/?p=6605"},"modified":"2019-09-10T15:03:44","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T15:03:44","slug":"snowbirds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/en\/snowbirds\/","title":{"rendered":"Snowbirds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Canadian wildlife that flies south and the dangers they face.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the days grow shorter and cooler,\nwho doesn\u2019t daydream of flying south for the winter? But for birds and winged\ninsects that migrate, the annual flight to overwintering sites is more of a\nperilous journey than a sunny vacation. Let\u2019s explore some Canadian wildlife\nthat flies south for the winter, the dangers they face and ways we can help\nthem travel safely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which Canadian animals fly south?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Canada is home to hundreds of migratory bird species, like the Great Blue Heron.
Photo \u00a9 Ron Gallagher | CWF Photo Club<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bird migration is a familiar and iconic\nsight in Canada \u2013 as summer draws to a close, we often spot V-shaped flocks of\nCanada Geese overhead and think \u201cwinter is on its way!\u201d Canada is home to\nhundreds of migratory bird species, from large Great Blue Herons to small\nRuby-throated Hummingbirds. Migratory birds take advantage of an abundance of\nfood and nesting space in the north during spring and summer, before taking\nflight for warmer climates and food near the end of summer and into fall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Birds aren\u2019t the only animals that take to the sky as cold weather approaches \u2013 some winged insects also migrate south, including species of butterflies and dragonflies. Monarch Butterflies<\/a> are famous for migrating in colourful swarms across distances of around 4,000 kilometres, leaving their summer breeding and feeding grounds to seek shelter for the winter. During late summer and into fall, Monarch Butterflies that live west of the Rocky Mountains travel to California, whereas those east of the Rockies migrate to Mexico. It can take Monarch Butterflies as many as four or five generations to complete the round trip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is migration dangerous \u2013 and how can you help?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Most birds migrate at night, which makes tall buildings and bright lights in big cities especially dangerous. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Birds can collide with many obstacles\nas they fly south, including windows, tall buildings, wind turbines and\nelectrical wires and structures. Even if the collision isn\u2019t fatal, a wounded\nbird can become easy prey for predators. Most birds migrate at night, which\nmakes tall buildings and bright lights in big cities especially dangerous.\nBeams of light used to illuminate buildings and other structures can disorient\nbirds and draw them in, leading to collisions or causing birds to flutter in\nlit areas until they drop from exhaustion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you live or work in a tall building, you can help reduce fatalities for migrating birds<\/a> by turning off lights that aren\u2019t in use or closing the blinds at night. On a larger scale, you can contact building owners and property managers to encourage them to take certain precautions during bird migration seasons (March through to the beginning of June and August through to the middle of November), including turning off lights at night, investing in motion-sensor lighting technologies, and extinguishing exterior architectural, landscape and rooftop lighting that isn\u2019t needed for safety.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Butterflies are impacted by habitat loss along migratory routes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Both birds and butterflies are impacted by habitat loss along migratory routes and at overwintering sites. Monarch Butterfly populations are also in decline due to pesticide use. They struggle to find essential food sources, such as nectar-rich flowers for adults and milkweed plants for larvae, so planting a butterfly garden<\/a> with pollinator-friendly plants can contribute to a successful migration. Growing a milkweed species on your property can also help new generations of Monarch Butterflies to flourish. Find out which milkweed species are native to your province and which should be avoided<\/a>.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Migration is an impressive, essential\nand dangerous journey. To conserve our winged friends, it\u2019s important to\nunderstand the challenges of migration and how we can help create a safe\npassage.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Canadian wildlife that flies south and the dangers they face. As the days grow shorter and cooler, who doesn\u2019t daydream of flying south for the winter? But for birds and…<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[631,6,638,641],"tags":[740],"class_list":["post-6605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-connect-with-nature","category-endangered-species","category-fields-forests","category-gardening","tag-migration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6605"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6627,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6605\/revisions\/6627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cwf-fcf.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}