Cool visualization of bird migration

[wtg]

Link to video

“Each spring, hundreds of migratory bird species return to North America from their wintering grounds in Central and South America. This animation highlights just 15 of these extraordinary travelers, offering a glimpse into one of nature’s most inspiring phenomena. As these birds navigate cities and landscapes on their way to breeding grounds, we have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to help keep them safe.”

https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/spring-bird-migration-a-cornell-lab-of-ornithology-data-visualization?utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=66c4c06e5d78644b3aab4472

[AndyD]

Thanks for posting this, I've been a keen birdwatcher from a very early age (YOC/FRSPB).
Migration is an annual amazing treat, watching our garden robins change, and seeing an osprey.
It's only quite recently that we realised what birds do.

[wtg]

@AndyD

Here's an animation that reflects activity closer to your home. And a lot more species!

https://www.eurobirdportal.org/ebp/en/#home/HIRRUS/r52weeks/CUCCAN/r52weeks/

[wtg]

I am seeing a lot of bird species this spring. Bunch of different types of woodpeckers, mourning doves (one of my favorites), cardinals, robins, chickadees, and a tiny little bird that I couldn't identify. It flew into an arborvitae in my backyard and I was able to peer in and get a good look at it, but it's not something I recognized.

Hummingbirds headed our way pretty soon.

https://www.hummingbird-guide.com/hummingbird-migration-map-2025.html#spring-migration-map-2025

[AndyD]

We get Scandinavian Robins over-wintering, and French Robins flying in to nest over warmer monthe so they are really English?

The Scandinavian are slightly orangey-red imo.
Both have a lovely loud warble, like our song thrush, sitting high in a tree.

[AndyD]

We have Collared Doves and Wood Pigeons in the garden. Less frequently a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Should a humming bird ever be blown across the Atlantic to our chilly shores it would attract hundreds of twitchers.
I've seen a hawk moth in the warmer south that is easily mistaken for them.

[wtg]

@AndyD said in Cool visualization of bird migration:

I've seen a hawk moth in the warmer south that is easily mistaken for them.

In my case, it was the other way around. I thought the hummingbird was a giant bee flitting around my impatiens flowers!

That hawk moth is quite remarkable.

They aren't here for very long, as we're just on their migratory path as they head up to the north for the summer. They are very common in Door County, Wisconsin, where we had a vacation home for many years. Friends up there had feeders that attracted many hummingbirds. They are amazing little birds.

[Mik]

We saw our first hummingbirds this week. He has stuck around, so may be here for the season.