The early bird may get the worm, but even the earliest of birds cannot overcome the sharp declines in insect populations in recent years.
This year’s World Migratory Bird Day theme, insects, highlights both the challenges faced by migratory birds and their primary food source. Join the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia (ACCA) to learn about these topics and more during Morgantown Migratory Bird Day from 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at Coopers Rock State Forest.
Bird migrations are a spectacle of perseverance and instinct. Bird migration patterns have evolved over thousands of years and are part of the animals’ genetic composition. Using a combination of the sun, the stars, Earth’s magnetic field, landmarks and event smell, birds travel in search of warmer temperatures and more food sources.
Morgantown Migratory Bird Day aims to highlight the beauty of this annual odyssey and encourage visitors to appreciate migrating birds as they pass through West Virginia.
“I hope people will recognize how many really cool migratory birds we have moving through our area right now,” said ACCA Executive Director Katie Fallon. “It’s a really neat phenomenon.”
Some birds currently passing through or traveling to West Virginia are the spotted sandpiper, broad-winged hawk, cerulean warbler and more.
At the Morgantown Migratory Bird Day event, birds like these, in addition to the hooded warbler, wood thrush and Baltimore oriole, may be spotted during the event’s kick-off activity — a guided bird walk along the Raven Rock Trail at Cooper’s Rock State Forest. The walk will be from 7:30-9 a.m., after which other activities will begin at Pavilion #2, near the overlook.
Between owl pellet dissections, crafts and educational displays, ambassador birds from the ACCA will be presented for attendees to see up-close and learn about at 10 then again at noon. Birds in attendance will likely include an American kestrel, broad-winged hawk, peregrine falcon, red-tailed hawk and eastern screech owl. All of these birds, excluding the eastern screech owl, are at least partially migratory species, with the broad-tailed hawk as one of the most migratory hawk species traveling around 4,000 miles each year.
In addition to the great distances traveled by migrating birds — up to a record-breaking 55,000 miles by the Arctic tern — birds face innumerable threats during their arduous journey, and the addition of human-made obstacles further complicates things.
During migration and throughout the year, many bird species are known to suffer fatal collisions with buildings due to windows and lights that confuse or attract birds. According to the Bird Alliance of Oregon, around 50%-75% of window collisions are fatal, and up to one billion birds die due to collisions with windows in the United States.
“The ACCA gets a lot of birds that have struck windows,” said Fallon. “There are some big, glassy buildings along the Monongahela River, and when those lights are on at night, we get calls from some of the buildings in Morgantown that have a lot of glass about bird collisions.”
To combat issues caused by light pollution, the National Audubon Society encourages Americans to turn off all non-essential lights whenever possible, especially at night and during bird migration seasons from March to June and August to November.
Just like many conservation measures, these efforts will help not just birds but all parts of the surrounding ecosystem, including the insects this World Migratory Bird Day aims to spotlight.
For many bird species, insects act as a prime food source throughout their lives, especially while feeding their young or during migration. According to a 2019 report published by scientific journal Biological Conservation, over 40% of insect species are declining and a third are endangered, largely a result of pesticides, habitat loss and more.
A few ways for individuals to assist conservation efforts is to mow your lawn less, leave areas of your yard natural and wild for animals to use and plant native plants.
“It’s an easy thing for conservation that people don’t often think about because we’re so accustomed to having a nice lawn,” said Fallon. “We’re spending a lot of time and energy on, from the perspective of insects and birds, carpet.”
To support one species of declining migratory birds, consider the ACCA’s American kestrel nest box program. Through a partnership with the WVDNR, the ACCA offers free nest boxes to landowners with enough acreage to support nesting American kestrels. Interested individuals can sign up for this program in the fall.
The event will run rain or shine, and is open to all ages.
“Everybody is welcome. It’s all kid and family friendly, and it’s all free,” said Fallon. “People can stop by the pavilion anytime between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., and we will be there talking about birds and hanging out with birds. It’d be great to see everybody out at Cooper’s Rock.”
For more information, visit ACCAWV.org.
