Recent warm temperatures are causing some birds to migrate early.
Credit: Garth Lenz
Across New England and southeastern Canada we are experiencing incredibly warm March temperatures—today (March 21) it is nearly 80 degrees F in Maine (that’s about 26 Celsius) when normally we might expect temperatures perhaps in the 40-50 F range!
Birds have been arriving early in many parts of the northeast including here in Maine as you can read here:
A Birder’s Take on Signs of Spring in Maine:
http://blog.nrcm.org/2012/03/a-birders-take-on-early-spring.html
Please let us know if you are seeing any differences in arrival dates of birds in your area.
Of course, climate change is having and will continue to have expected and unexpected major implications for birds other wildlife and the people of the boreal region and whether or not this current very warm weather is a sign of things to come, the trend is clear.
Here are some links to background about climate change and birds in Canada and more broadly:
Our BSI webpage on Climate Change and Birds:
/globalwarmingbirds.shtml
Nature Canada’s Climate Change and Birds:
http://www.naturecanada.ca/climate_change_birds.asp
Delta Marsh, Manitoba study of spring arrival dates of birds:
http://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/bitstream/1993/3025/1/Murphy-Klassen_Long-term_trends.pdf
Impacts of Climate Change to Wildlife in Ontario:
https://ozone.scholarsportal.info/bitstream/1873/13137/1/275634.pdf
Natural Resources Canada 2001 annotated bibliography on effects of climate change on birds:
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/projdb/pdf/69_e.pdf
Use of Cornell and Audubon’s Ebird data to study arrival dates of birds:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0031662
Book chapter co-authored by International Boreal Science Panelist Terry Root on Implications of Climate Change for Wildlife:
http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Publications/PDF_Papers/Overview(1-56).pdf
Long-distance migrants may be most impacted in very seasonal habitats:
http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/277/1685/1259.full
