CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Spring is in the air and the birds are singing songs of love as they travel north from their wintering grounds. Larry Jordon from the Audubon Outdoor Club joined us on 3 News First Edition to talk about bird migration. Some birds don't migrate at all, while the Arctic Tern migrates the farthest distance from the Antarctic to the Arctic.
Most of the birds we see in the US and Canada will migrate north from places in South and Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico. South Texas sees the convergence of two flyways – a flyway is like a path that certain birds will travel to reach their various destinations. It's also a welcome stopping ground for many songbirds that migrate across the Gulf of Mexico.
Some will travel many thousands of miles from origins in South and Central America, so the gulf coast offers food and shelter for these birds, so they take advantage of the hospitality and some may stay around for a few weeks before they continue the journey north to their breeding grounds.
Many species migrate but the songbirds in particular usually catch people's attention as the birds are in their very colorful breeding plumage now.
You can probably see most of them in your back yard if you have a good variety of trees, plants and a water source. Some of the favorite birding 'hot spots' are Blucher Park on Carrizo St next to the Central Library, Held-Morgan Nature Sanctuary in Flour Bluff, Hans Suter Park on Ennis Joslin Rd, plus the Birding Center in Port Aransas and many more. Also check out www.ebird.org for the latest sightings.
Now is the time to put out your bird feeder if you haven't already done so. And don't forget water too – that's very important. It can be in the form of a bird bath, pond, water fountain or drip hose. All are essential to the birds - they can even 'hear the sound of water trickling' and they will take full advantage of that to drink and bathe.
As always, we thank the University of Texas Marine Science Institute, Coastal Bend Audubon Society and the Audubon Outdoor Club for putting this segment together.