BirdSleuth K-12 Educators… These teaching slides were created by the BirdSleuth K-12 team. We welcome you to share these slides with your students! You may edit this file, but please do not distribute this file (neither original or edited versions). Other resources pertaining to this content can be found at: Need help or have questions? Please contact BirdSleuth at or consult the BirdSleuth website at Join BirdSleuth on our social networks at: – Facebook: – Twitter: – Pinterest: Version 2.0 July 17,2014

BirdSleuth K-12 What is migration? Migration is the large-scale annual movement of all or some of a population between breeding (summer) and non- breeding (wintering) grounds

BirdSleuth K-12

American Goldfinch Cedar Waxwing Killdeer Red-winged Blackbird House Wren Yellow Warbler America n Robin

BirdSleuth K-12 Are American Robins truly harbingers of spring?

BirdSleuth K-12 Diverse Strategies Residents – Temperate – Tropical Migrants Partial Migrants Short-distance Medium-distance Long-distance

BirdSleuth K-12 Partial Migrants In some species, some populations migrate while others don’t Can depend on: – Food availability – Location

BirdSleuth K-12 Red-winged Blackbird

BirdSleuth K-12 Do all bird species migrate? Not us Chickadees! Yeah, we don’t either! No, some species don’t migrate at all

BirdSleuth K-12 Downy Woodpecker

BirdSleuth K-12 Yellow Warbler Long-distance Migrants

BirdSleuth K-12 Migration Pros and Cons Pros: – Escape the harsh winter – Better chances of finding food during the winter Cons: – Migration is dangerous – Resident birds get first pick of nest sites Winter’s a drag. I’m heading to find some insects! Migration sounds scary! I’ll stay here.

BirdSleuth K-12 Why do any birds migrate? Natural selection favors traits that help an organism survive and reproduce. There’s more than one way to success. Different birds have different strategies. survival reproduction

BirdSleuth K-12 They need food! Winter: Food is scarce in much of North America, and abundant in the tropics Summer: A bountiful feast of insects in North America—especially important for feeding young

BirdSleuth K-12 Stay or Go? Tropical ResidentsMigrants Temperate Residents Survival Rate High survival rate (avoid hazards of migration and harsh winter weather) Moderate (due to hazards of migration) Low survival rate (due to cold and starvation) Number of Young Raised per Year Few young raised (food for young is less abundant) Many young raised (due to abundant food in breeding areas) Many young raised (due to abundant food)