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DoorCountyTravelersJournal.com |
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This week I thought I heard a lot more birds outside. Did you hear them too? For sure I heard some chickadees singing that "chick-a-dee-dee-dee" song. I think chickadees stay around here all winter long. Why would they be singing and making other noises a little more than usual these days? Is it a sign of spring? What other birds have you heard yourself? Are birds that migrated south for the winter starting to come back? Isn't it a little early? How do birds know that spring is coming to Wisconsin if they are hanging out in Georgia or Florida? A friend of mine says she saw two robins the other day, on St. Patrick's Day. Is this possible? I like your column. Your friend, Allison, Grade 6 New Franken Dear Allison, I hope that you are enjoying this warmer weather as much as I am! Thanks for visiting my page and asking me a question. Chickadees do stay here all winter and yes, their chirping is one sign of spring. Why? Here’s the interesting answer: The reason that birds make more noise than usual these days is actually not because of the weather. Up here in Door County, the birds usually wouldn’t be chirping until late May, if it was based on the spring-like weather! But since birds don’t have clocks or calendars like we do, how do they know when spring is technically here? After much research, scientists in Britain and Japan found that birds’ timing is based on the length of daylight. As the days get longer and longer as we get closer to the Summer Solstice, hormones are released in the birds which bring on the gene that makes them feel the need to mate and produce offspring. And the way that birds find a mate is to show off their beautiful “voices” by chirping. Even though we still have wintery weather, the birds are chirping and mating based on the sun—isn’t that neat? The idea that robins are the first sign of spring is mostly mythical. Robins are a very hardy bird. Some robins don’t migrate at all if they have access to enough food (berries and fruits), but if their food is covered in ice, they need to migrate a little to the south for survival. It is quite possible that your friend did see robins on St. Patrick’s Day. Either those robins didn’t migrate at all, or they are back from the south already. When birds decide to fly back north varies for each kind of bird and how far south they flew. For more information, check out “birds” on www.wikipedia.com or www.birds.com. Happy “Spring” on Monday! Your friend, Skipper Skipper's expertise is in life outdoors, but he will also address questions about other topics such as food, school issues, sports, getting along with others, family pets, etc. So what's your question? Write to Skipper at: skipper (at) doorcountytravelersjournal (dot) com Questions for Skipper are due one week in advance of the publication of his column, that is, Tuesdays, so that he has ample time to ponder, research, and respond intelligently. © Copyright 2011 by DoorCountyTravelersJournal.com
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