Spring Update and Fall Migration Alert 2024
For those of us that follow the Lights Out Texas program, here is an update from the Trinity River Audubon Center September 2024 Newsletter.
Fueling up for a long flight
As we humans return from summer vacations and settle back into the familiar rhythms of our daily fall schedules, many birds are planning, prepping, and ‘packing’ for their big trip south. Fall migration officially kicked off last month on August 15, and peak migration starts this week on September 5. Migration flights operate on a strict carry-on-only basis, so what’s a bird to do? The answer: eat!
Many migratory birds set themselves up for a successful journey through a method known as hyperphagia, or excessive eating. This allows a bird to build up fuel for their flight by building up their own body fat. Stored fat doesn’t weigh birds down the way that protein or carbohydrates would, making it a wise choice. Importantly, fat stores can also be replenished along the way to wintering grounds. This is why native plants are such a welcome sight for hungry, traveling birds – especially those that produce lipid-rich berries like American beautyberry, a fantastic Texas native.
Come watch this amazing avian feat unfold right before your eyes this fall at Trinity River Audubon Center! Walk through our forest trails, and you just might catch a glimpse of a Yellow-rumped Warbler flitting in and out of a beautyberry bush, with the prize of a bright purple berry in its beak. While you’re here, don’t forget to stop by our pollinator garden tucked in towards the back of our visitor center. Our garden (faithfully maintained by the helping hands of our volunteers!) is a living classroom of native Texas plants and grasses. Let it serve as inspiration for your own plantings or simply enjoy it for its beauty. Either way, we’re firm believers that a walk in the garden is a fantastic way to get closer to the nature that surrounds us every day.
Highlights from Spring 2024 Fort Worth Lights Out Final Report
Below are some highlights of the Spring 2024 Fort Worth Lights Out Final Report from Texas Conservation Alliance.
Bird–Building Collisions by Family & Week in Spring 2024
A total of 17 unique species encompassing 11 families were recorded throughout the spring season. Doves and pigeons (Family Columbidae) made up 28% of our total documented bird–building collisions. Non-migratory and resident species such as Great-tailed Grackles, Carolina Chickadees, House Finches, and European Starlings (an invasive species) made up 24% of documented bird–building collisions. The remaining 48% of documented bird–building collisions were migratory species, with the most common being Ovenbirds and Nashville Warblers (Family Parulidae).
New Species for Lights Out Texas!
A Cliff Swallow (Petrochilodon pyrrhonota) building collision mortality was documented this spring in downtown Fort Worth, becoming a new species recorded for the Lights Out Fort Worth program. After reviewing observations in the statewide iNaturalist monitoring project, we have determined that the Cliff Swallow building collision mortality is a new species for Lights Out Texas! Although Barn Swallows (Family Hirundinidae) have been recorded for Lights Out Texas before, this is the first time a Cliff Swallow building collision mortality has been documented in the statewide iNaturalist monitoring project.
A stark difference was observed in the number of bird–building collisions found in Dallas (n = 346) versus Fort Worth (n = 42), despite their close proximity. According to Cornell’s BirdCast migration analysis, an estimated 15 million more birds traveled through Tarrant County (Fort Worth) compared to Dallas, yet the number of window collisions was significantly lower in Fort Worth. The most obvious difference between the two cities was the level of darkness in Fort Worth throughout the spring migration.
While light pollution is not the sole factor behind bird–building collisions, reducing light levels should decrease the number of birds that become disoriented during migration and keep them flying high above the glass-covered buildings that put them at great risk of collision.
For more details, please go to the Lights Out Fort Worth Spring 2024 Final Report found at Texas Conservation Alliance or the Trinity River Audubon Center September 2024 Newsletter. And remember, Fall Migration is upon us.
Peak period: September 5 – October 29
Full Migration: August 15 – November 30