Climate change and birds in your area (1 Viewer)

[dak]

I live in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US. I am old enough that I have witnessed climate change in many ways. 40 years ago all the lakes around here would freeze over for a couple months. I used to walk across a lake to get to class. The daytime highs were usually in the 30s (about 2 C), this winter has been in the 40s and 50s.

Regarding birds, I wasn't a real birder back then, but I knew the common species from going out fishing or canoeing and being a nature freak in general. Back then I didn't see robins during the winter. The robin was the harbinger of spring. Now it's the harbinger of all seasons. The same with bluebirds and warblers. I never saw herons, egrets, sandpipers, or cormorants during the winter. I only heard second hand about the egret and cormorant, but the rest I have seen.

I think it would be interesting to see what changes in bird presence people have noticed in their areas over time.

 

[Mysticete]

It's a bit of myth that Robins completely migrate south in winter. They are less common but as long as their is a food source they will stick around. It's just that they are fewer in number and more nomadic. It might just be that as a birder you notice them more.

As far as the thread topic goes, I have heard anecdotal evidence that Gray Jays and Boreal Chickadees have vanished from some traditional spots in northern Wisconsin, which is at the extreme southern end of there range. Black-bellied Whistling Ducks seems to be showing up in the north more often; my town had a one day wonder I think last year. The recent Texas snowstorms have hammered some of the birds that winter down there. Hermit Thrush numbers for me have been down since that big freeze a few years back, and bluebirds also don't seem to have fully recovered.

Of course I have only lived in Wisconsin for 5 years, so I can't really comment on longer term trends locally.

 

[Scott98]

It's been going on for the last 100 years. Mockingbirds are common around here in New England. Several other common species were not here in the 1800's.

The most recent one I noticed was Black Vultures while visiting my hometown in CT a couple years ago. I instantly knew I was seeing something I'd never seen before. Everybody's moving north. I also saw a brown pelican in Newburport, Mass. last summer, a sighting that didn't faze the local experts when I reported it - not unusual in summer. I'd never seen one outside of Florida.

New England's climate is the one of the fastest warming spots in the temperate zones of the world, especially in winter. Mostly because the ocean here is heating up extremely fast, the Gulf of Maine is 10 degrees F warmer than it was 30-40 years ago.

Once the Thwaites Glacier comes off, that's when the **** hits the fan. The last time there was this much CO2 in the air, sea levels were 70 feet higher. Latency is the only thing saving us right now.

 

[Val35]

Here in Corsica, the population of white winged snowfinches has almost (or completely ?) vanished in recent years (one sighting in 2022, one in 2020...). This is probably due to warmer temperatures in the high mountains...
I think the population of this species on the island was never very big but still...

 

[dak]

Great post Scott. This past summer I also saw a brown pelican fishing in the ocean, and also American white pelicans in the bay. And I noticed an increasing abundance of Black Vultures around here starting about ten years ago.

 

[kb57]

Regarding American Robins, the first time I visited the States was in the mid-80s, when I stayed with a couple of friends in Michigan, in the Grand Rapids area for 2 weeks in the middle of March. The first week there was a light covering of snow on the ground, and no robins around at all...the second week spring suddenly arrived and they were everywhere. I've never experienced such as sudden seasonal change anywhere else.

In Britain some species with a previously southerly distribution have seen a really marked range expansion - Cetti's warblers were unheard of, now they have just reached southern Scotland; little egrets were very rare - now they are practically everywhere, while cattle egrets and great egrets have colonised are becoming much more widespread and frequent.

 

[dak]

Today I saw a great egret, first time ever in the middle of winter, but we didn't really have a winter this year.

 

[dak]

FYI, a very interesting post by Fred Ruhe was put in the birds>archaeology forum concerning the changes in ranges for cold habitat birds vs tropical birds during the last glacial maximum.

 

[Andy Adcock]

I live in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US. I am old enough that I have witnessed climate change in many ways. 40 years ago all the lakes around here would freeze over for a couple months. I used to walk across a lake to get to class. The daytime highs were usually in the 30s (about 2 C), this winter has been in the 40s and 50s.

Regarding birds, I wasn't a real birder back then, but I knew the common species from going out fishing or canoeing and being a nature freak in general. Back then I didn't see robins during the winter. The robin was the harbinger of spring. Now it's the harbinger of all seasons. The same with bluebirds and warblers. I never saw herons, egrets, sandpipers, or cormorants during the winter. I only heard second hand about the egret and cormorant, but the rest I have seen.

I think it would be interesting to see what changes in bird presence people have noticed in their areas over time.

When I was a kid in the Midlands of the UK, there would always be frozen puddles on the pavement in winter which the kids would use as slides. It doesn't get cold enough anymore, sub zero temps are rare in the midlands now, even at night.

 

[Farnboro John]

When I was a kid in the Midlands of the UK, there would always be frozen puddles on the pavement in winter which the kids would use as slides. It doesn't get cold enough anymore, sub zero temps are rare in the midlands now, even at night.

Indeed, back in the day I rode my bicycle across Fleet Pond with my friends. One of the funniest accidents I've ever seen was when one of them spotted a fish frozen in the ice and braked to look at it without putting his feet down first - he and the bike swapped places in a microsecond.

Even in a freeze these days I wouldn't risk it, it wouldn't be solid enough.

John

 

[KenM]

Everything being relative, the Winter of 62/63 in London was the last “real” Winter that we had, with snow c8” deep for three months (I’ll never forget my paper round…brr-r-r-r)!
However that may well have been a “Mickey Mouser” considering that they held “fares and bonfires” on the Thames during the 16th century.😮

 

[Farnboro John]

Everything being relative, the Winter of 62/63 in London was the last “real” Winter that we had, with snow c8” deep for three months (I’ll never forget my paper round…brr-r-r-r)!
However that may well have been a “Mickey Mouser” considering that they held “fares and bonfires” on the Thames during the 16th century.😮

I wouldn't know, in the winter of 62/63 I was just being born - in Singapore....

John

 

[KenM]

Always knew you were an upstart! 😂

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Indeed, back in the day I rode my bicycle across Fleet Pond with my friends. One of the funniest accidents I've ever seen was when one of them spotted a fish frozen in the ice and braked to look at it without putting his feet down first - he and the bike swapped places in a microsecond.

Even in a freeze these days I wouldn't risk it, it wouldn't be solid enough.

John

Of course the ice would have to be a wee smidge thicker nowadays. Nothing personal, goes for all of us!

 

[jogresh]

It's been going on for the last 100 years. Mockingbirds are common around here in New England. Several other common species were not here in the 1800's.

The most recent one I noticed was Black Vultures while visiting my hometown in CT a couple years ago. I instantly knew I was seeing something I'd never seen before. Everybody's moving north. I also saw a brown pelican in Newburport, Mass. last summer, a sighting that didn't faze the local experts when I reported it - not unusual in summer. I'd never seen one outside of Florida.

New England's climate is the one of the fastest warming spots in the temperate zones of the world, especially in winter. Mostly because the ocean here is heating up extremely fast, the Gulf of Maine is 10 degrees F warmer than it was 30-40 years ago.

Once the Thwaites Glacier comes off, that's when the **** hits the fan. The last time there was this much CO2 in the air, sea levels were 70 feet higher. Latency is the only thing saving us right now.

Interesting post. Latency is something to think about.

 

[Trinovid]

One thing is for sure, animals are better at adapting to changes of any sort than their think-too-much counterparts. I'll never forget the fox I saw playing on the highway at -52 below up in the Yukon. Despite the sunshine, we thought it was pretty cold out, but the fox was too busy having fun and playing in the road.

 

[Paul Chapman]

I wouldn't know, in the winter of 62/63 I was just being born - in Singapore....

John

Wow. That's a long labour. Having met your mother - and a lovely woman she was too - no wonder she looked long suffering in your company. 😀

All the best

Paul

 

[dak]

Another thing I have noticed is that insects are more and more present here during the winter. Today they were flying all over the place. I'm sure this allows some of the warblers to stay around farther north than they used to.

 

[dak]

Today I saw a Tree Swallow. About one month early for this area.