Migratory birds are not picky to stop

If a lush and safe forest with meandering streams is considered a luxury stop for migratory birds, in fact, according to Purdue University's research results, these birds are very easy to be satisfied with the stop equivalent to a cheap hotel on the roadside.

John Dunning, professor of forest and natural resources, found that migratory birds need only a small garden between artificial farming areas to stay overnight, as long as there is enough food. and their safety. Dunning said the results suggest that conservation efforts should be implemented in small forested areas to protect the declining numbers of migratory birds.

'There are many strategies for forest protection for migratory birds, but these are strategies that focus on large forest areas,' Dunning said. 'We have just discovered that even small orchards are sometimes filled with migratory birds. This makes us believe that all forest areas need to be protected, big or small. '

Professor Dunning and graduate student Diane Packett observed gardens located in different locations from Indiana's Wabash River - half a kilometer from the river, 1-5 km from the river, and 20 km from the river. The gardens have an area of ​​less than 20 acres (ie 8 hectares) and have plants in at least three sides. Dunning and Packett conducted observations in both spring and fall, and published the results on the latest issue of The Auk, a specialized journal of the American Ornithology Association.

There are 76 different migratory birds found in these gardens; the number of species as well as the number of birds does not differ significantly regardless of the distance from the Wabash River to the gardens is different.

Packett says migrating birds travel thousands of miles between Central and South America and Canada twice a year, sometimes just a simple place to rest along the road . As forests are increasingly destroyed to serve the development, agricultural production and many other human purposes, the birds are now easily satisfied with any forest or garden they find when tired or bad weather.

'They don't fly all the way through the journey. They have to travel thousands of miles, ' Packett explained. 'They need a safe place to stop, rest and eat. If not, they probably cannot survive the long flight. '

A group of geese are looking for a place to stop. (Photo: iStockphoto / Sarah Holmstrom)

Other efforts to prevent the decline in the number of migratory birds focus on threats to wintering in Central and South America and bird breeding grounds. But urban areas and empty fields are not suitable for migratory birds because they are very vulnerable to predators when in open environments. That's why small gardens or patches are so important to migrating birds.

Dunning said that the findings published at this time are significant because small forests are threatened by ethanol production. He said producers were tempted to profit by cutting down forests and gardens to produce ethanol.

'The big concern now is biological materials. If the use of wood is economically viable in ethanol production, it is likely that the forests will disappear, ' Dunning said. 'If people think there is nothing valuable in those forests, they will cut down the trees and plant corn instead.'

Dunning said he wanted to add radio signaling devices to birds migrating in gardens to keep track of how long they stayed there and where they would stop on the migration journey.

The study was funded by the Amos W. Butler Audubon Association and the Indiana State Academy of Sciences.