Every spring and fall there is a massive movement of wild birds known as migration. The migration of many of our native birds is an amazing natural occurance. It's one of the most amazing seasonal phenomena that backyard birders all over the world witness. Migrations of birds across North America is the driving force that brings new visitors stopping in your backyard every half year. Be prepared with a good pair of binoculars or spotting scopes, a field guide for identification and plenty of bird food!

Why Do Birds Migrate?
In the fall, more than 350 species of birds leave for Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, traveling thousands of miles to their winter territory.  They may travel hundreds of miles in a day in carefully organized flocks. Many species travel by night and some may fly non-stop over large bodies of water such as the Gulf of Mexico. Birds will readily accept suet, a fresh source of water especially in winter, and a backyard feeder full of bird seed as they make their long journeys.

When the cold breeze of winter arrives, some birds will congregate in the southern parts of their ranges. As the season grows colder and food supply diminishes, more birds withdraw southward where food is easier to obtain. This is where your backyard birdfeeder comes in as a handy source of food to help the birds build their fat for migration.

In the spring, as early as February and March, the migrants begin their miraculous return. The timing of their migration is triggered by hormonal changes brought about by the lengthening daylight hours as winter recedes.  No matter where you live in North America, migratory birds will drop by your backyard.  Learn the secrets to identifying backyard birds.

What You Can Do To Help?
Few of us think about what we can do to help these birds survive their grueling trips and the stresses that await them as they return to raise their young.  The loss of habitat due to development and even mother nature's storms adds to their hardship. Habitat needed for food and shelter is disappearing at an alarming rate.

The destruction of tropical rain forests in Central and South America has had a disastrous effect on birds. Many songbirds that migrate to North America have been threatened with extinction as a result of habitat loss.  Some songbirds nesting sites are being taken over by house sparrows, which were imported from England in 1850.  One method of helping is increasing nesting sites by adding bird houses to your backyard.

Keep your backyard feeder up and full of fresh food all year.

Keep nesting boxes up all year. They will be welcomed in the spring by nesting birds, but can also be used as roosting boxes by species that over winter in your area. Create a natural bird habitat in your own backyard designed to provide food, shelter, water and nesting sites for birds.

Visit Bird Oasis for all your Backyard Birding Needs.