This week for Adventure Arkansas, we’re talking birds, and how they are migrating back to our region to nest.
We drove the Adventure Subaru to the Janet Huckabee River Valley Nature Center in Fort Smith to learn from a bird migration expert and to talk about how weather affects their journey north.
“Can you tell what bird that was,” said Ann Gordon, Nature Center Volunteer. “Those are cow birds, not our favorite bird.”
The weather plays a massive role in bird migration. When there’s a nice southerly breeze, the birds will continue their journey northward, but when there’s a north wind, they’ll stop, and they’ll wait until the weather changes.
“When we get those north winds like we had over the weekend that kind of stops the migration, because most of them are coming up from the south,” said Gordon.
The bird garden is active at the nature center. You can see several species of birds trying to find a nice treat in the hanging bird feeders.
“The River Valley is generally a good place for the birds. They are site specific. A lot of birds, our migratory birds will nest in the same area where they nested last year, or the year before,” said Gordon. “Right now, we’re getting the warblers that have been in Central and South America, starting to come back.”
If you want several birds in your backyard, Ann has a few tips.
“The more native plants you have, the more caterpillars you will have, and that’s what those birds need for feeding their babies. If you don’t have bugs, you don’t have birds,” said Gordon.
With Adventure Arkansas, and covering the birds where you live, I’m 5NEWS Meteorologist Matt Standridge.
Segment Sponsored By: Adventure Subaru