I always thought birds migrated so they wouldn't be cold here in Sparks. I always saw flocks of ducks flying south and thought they were tired of the cold so they moved to a warmer climate. Then, I would see other ducks stay here and struggle to stay warm, but I never had an answer to why they stayed here if they were always so cold. I always wondered this, but I never seemed to care enough to find an answer. It's not that only ducks do this, but they are the only birds I saw do this.
Now with the observations I'm doing with this project, I've noticed that kestrels do this too. I never understood why birds didn't simply migrate to a warmer climate instead of staying in cold ones. I saw my kestrel just sitting there in its nest and thought to myself, "why doesn't she migrate to a warm climate and come back when spring begins here?" I researched this and it turns out they stay where their food supply's at not because it's warmer where they migrate to. "Birds migrate to follow the availability of food," says Simmons, on Audubon Magazine, "their movements are driven by where they can find the food that they are designed to eat and compatible habitat."
It's a lot like what people do; they move to where the money's at. Money is human's grasshopper. Kestrels love to eat large grasshoppers as much as most people like having money. Money turns the world for people and grasshoppers turn it for kestrels. It's funny how something can be so valuable for someone and other things for others.
Work Cited
Simmons, Hugh. "Why Do Some Birds Migrate, and Others Don't?" Audubon Magazine. N. p. 9 Nov. 2012. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.
I,too, thought it was about the cold. You taught me something.
ReplyDeleteLike Ms.Farias already said I thought all birds migrated because of the cold. You called the Kestral by "She", how do you know if it's a female or male bird?
ReplyDeleteWell, on an earlier post (Realization) I described how to distinguish this type of bird.
DeleteThat is fascinating that they stay for food, but it makes sense. We humans move where we will have the easiest time meeting ends because that's what we've got to do to "make it" and for these birds, just staying alive through the winter is making it. I do wonder why the grass hoppers don't die off like other insects during this time of year, I'd think they'd get more scarce.
ReplyDeleteKestrels are tough aren't they? Its crazy how these birds just takes Mother Nature's cold wether. Their nest must be nice and cozy. I like how you compare us humans with the Kestrels with money and grasshopper nice touch.
ReplyDeleteGood blog Oscar, do you know what birds do if they get too cold? I have a faint memory of it ,but I'm not sure.
ReplyDelete