How Fall Migration Works

Mornin' to anyone who participated, volunteered, or is tuckered just thinking about the 2022 Wisconsin Ironman. This is the Wiscampsin Weekly - the email that gets you in the know on the Wisconsin outdoors in 5 minutes or less. New reader? Subscribe here.

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What we're tweeting about this week:

• Birds migrate south 🦢 

• Hunting webinar upcoming 🦌 

• Refer friends, get Wiscampsin merch! 👇

Saying Sayonara to Wisconsin's Migratory Birds

It all started with a man named Count Von Bothmer.

While sipping a boot of bier in the early 1800s at his estate in Germany, he spotted a stork that looked a little ... strange. Flapping about, the bird was heavily burdened by something protruding from its frame.

Upon further inspection, the Count was bewildered to find the stork stuck with a spear! A number of questions arose:

Cripes! Where the heck does one find a spear these days? How's it even flying like that? How many beers did I have?

He took it to a naturalist, and the two pieced together that the spear had to have originated somewhere in Africa. Probably found it at Cabela's...

And seeing how it was the 1800s and, well, you know - not many folks had access to African weaponry, it must have been that the bird was speared in Africa and flew all the way to Germany afterwards.

It wasn't long until others, too, found these skewered storks, and began asking questions...

Wisconsin's migratory birds

• Head south for winter in search of warmer climates to rest and feed

• Rely on some form of internal navigation (instinct, magnetic fields, smell, genetics)

• Millions of birds will migrate through Wisconsin from mid-summer to early winter

Where'd all the birds go?

For thousands of years, humans have pondered where the birds disappear to in the wintertime.

Early theories included hibernation and even transmutation, becoming an entirely different species all together.

One such theory from the 1700s did come close. It theorized migration, but its destination was a little off: They thought the birds were flying to the moon.

But what truly sparked the field of Ornithology (bird science) came during World War II, when soldiers found what appeared to be German bombers on their radar.

When the Blitzkrieging Nazis never showed, the baffled soldiers chalked it up be to the angels of dead soldiers on their radar screens.

It wasn't until years later that someone put two and two together - indeed, the dots were birds!

Much of the same technology used to track airborne Krauts was repurposed to help scientists study the migration patterns of birds.

What comes up, must come down

We know what you're wondering: Why ever would anyone ever want to leave Wisconsin in the wintertime!?

Besides skipping out on plow duty, birds have good reasons for returning south for the long winter.

1. Nesting: Birds come north to Wisconsin in the springtime to claim open nesting sites from which to raise young. When Fall rolls around and the offspring have left the nest, the birds return south once more to regain strength for the another mating season.

2. Food: While us 'Sconnies enjoy pumpkin pie, tailgate brats, and other Fall fare, birds have to travel to warmer climates to find more resources (aka bugs to eat).

3. Temperature: Though many birds can handle the cold when food is available, most neo-tropical migrants can not. But they don't wait for Starbucks to announce Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back. They have a genetic sensor to changing light and temperature that signals when it's time to skedaddle.

Siri, set directions to Argentina, please

Unlike your Dad who lives and dies by his road map (why oh why can't we just use Google Maps...), birds have other methods to get where they're going.

And though the migration patterns range as far north as the Arctic and Greenland, and as far south as Argentina's Tierra del Fuego, the means of their navigation still baffles scientists.

The best guess so far is that birds have some genetic imprint in their DNA of where to go. For example, a newly hatched Ruby-throated Hummingbird, a solitary animal, knows to fly over the Gulf of Mexico despite having never done so.

Another theory thinks that birds rely on olfactory mapping to find where they're headed. Just follow the smell tacos and tequila...

Dozens of experiments have been conducted that point to other possible sources of navigation, like the sun, stars, landmarks, and magnetism of the Earth, though none is completely conclusive.

Birds ETA

As each bird has different needs and habits, the time of their departure varies greatly.

The earliest to head south are shorebirds in July and August. Then comes the neo-tropical migrants, who breed in the US and Canada and winter in Central and South America.

Some have a more sporadic, "fare weather" migration style. For example, if the winter is mild enough, you may see crows stick around in whats called partial migration. Grab a snow shovel, fellas.

And while the neo-tropical migrants return to the same location year after year, others purely follow resources. This is true of the Cedar Waxwings, nomadic migrants who wander place to place in search of food.

For the sportsmen and women out there, they'll know that migration means something a little differently to waterfowl. A bit heartier than other birds, some species come only as far south as Wisconsin, where Lake Michigan provides unfrozen waters to feed in. Duck hunters, delight!

Viewing

Over the span of a few months, millions of birds will fly through the Dairyland state. Hopefully not directly over our cars...

With this neat tracker from Birdcast, you can view live migration maps and daily tallies on bird movement data.

Of course, the best way to see 'em is in the great outdoors at some of the state's prime birdwatching spots.

And for those who want to lend a han- erm, wing, consider joining local conservation project that provides more natural habitat to Wisconsin's birds!

Just as long as ya get out 'der!

The "Holy Cripes" Moment of the Week❗️

Watch these goats go to work removing the invasive Buckthorne at Brule River State Forest, a more symbiotic style of conservation.

Nuts and Seeds 🌰 

🍖 Fill that freezer!: Perhaps our most famous holiday, whitetail deer hunting is right around the corner, and it's not too late to learn how to hunt via a webinar course through the DNR. The next one takes place on Sept. 21, titled Where Can We Hunt? Dunno, but better not be my treestand!

🏆 WIN WISCAMPSIN MERCH: We wanna take a moment to thank all the good folks supporting us this past year! To celebrate, we just launched a new referral program where you can earn free merch by referring us to your friends. Mugs, stickers, t-shirts, even a homemade map of Wisconsin's Supper Clubs are up for grabs! See bottom of email for deets.

❌ Don't shoot the moose: With more and more folks getting involved in the outdoors and hunting, the DNR wants to remind everyone to know their target and don't shoot the elk or moose! Whitetail deer are much smaller in both body and rack size. Are you reading this, Cousin Ed?

A review from the Trail... We'll be here reminding you of every season, fella!