The peak of bird migration is winding down across our region. The evening of May 22nd was the busiest migration night, with 449,200 birds crossing Pueblo County. Birds migrate north during the warmer months because of the abundance of food, like Miller moths, and blooming flowers. If you find yourself awake around dawn or even a little after, you may hear birds chirping and communicating with each other. The sounds many of us are familiar with belong to white-winged doves or robins. House finches bring a bright song to the mix too.
If you listen carefully though, you’ll begin to hear other birds that are not as familiar. Those are usually our migrating visitors, like the western kingbird. Thanks to our cell phones, aka pocket computers, we can use tools like Merlin or eBird apps to quickly identify the unique songs and sounds of birds. Both apps are under the direction of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Merlin is a wonderful identifier, by either listening to birds or answering five simple questions that are based on your sighting of the bird.
Watching, listening to, and identifying birds is a fantastic way to connect with nature by just stepping outside. When you share your discoveries within the app the data is shared. Scientists and researchers use the data to observe where bird populations are changing, whether it is increasing, decreasing, or where they spend time indicates where habitats are supportive or not.
We hope you find some time to spend outdoors this summer, not just doing chores or exercising, but also by sitting and enjoying the nature living all around us.