Local professor talks bird migration as the journey south starts

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Unless you are hunting, you probably haven’t noticed, but the skies have been on the move for the past month.

Birds are now starting their journey to the South as their migratory instincts are taking over. But the journey is a long one, and the endeavor can be a months long process for our avian friends.

“With birds here in Kentucky, basically the migration starts now. And actually a little earlier in early August. But they basically migrate through for their fall migration from late August all the way up until November,” said Dr. Noah Ashley, professor of biological sciences at Western Kentucky University.

If you look at the sky, though, you probably won’t be seeing a mass of birds moving south. Instead, they leave during different times, with larger birds leaving in the daytime to utilize rising warm air to help them gain altitude, while smaller birds fly at night using the darkness for protection.

“Hawks, eagles and falcons migrate during the day. Also, many of our waterfowl species do that as well as our cranes like Sandhill cranes. And then what a lot of people don’t know,  is that for all of our small songbirds, that they will migrate at night. And so they’re they have a different way of doing it. And they do it because they don’t want to get eaten by predators during the day,” Ashley said.

Millions of birds have already taken to the skies, especially during the nighttime. So much so that Doppler radar is used to detect rain and storms are now picking them up on scans.

But there is no map to help the birds find their way. Instead, they use similar methods that early human explorers used to help them find their way.

“Many waterfowl species, shorebirds will use flyways. So in the state of Kentucky, we’re in the Mississippi Flyway. And they will navigate using special landmarks, river systems and so forth. So they use those as cues. And then this is really cool for birds that migrate at night. They’ll use the stars. They actually will they know certain constellations and they will use that to help navigate,” Ashley said.

Rapid urbanization, though, has now started to cause problems for these migrating birds, with lights from buildings confusing them, causing them to land prematurely.

Ashley recommends turning your outdoor lights off or using warmer colored lights to help them keep them in the skies and stay on course.