Spring Migrations

Springtime is advancing rapidly here in Ish River country, with Red Currants and Indian Plum in full bloom, bringing in the hummingbirds from the south. The arrival of migrating birds is, to me, the surest sign of the seasonal shifting. My daily commute through the Skagit Valley reveals a few Trumpeter swans still mucking about in the muddy farm fields, but their numbers are diminished, and the snow geese don't seem to be around anymore -- maybe they are somewhere over British Columbia, flying northward to the Aleutian Islands where they nest and raise their young in what must be one cacophonous assembly of life.

This year, I've been loving a new technological advance that is helping me to more fully realize the miracle of bird migration. Several researchers have attached satellite-based receivers to specific species, which is nothing new, but the birds' movements are being tracked via Google Earth, which is. I am a huge fan of Google Earth, and have spent many hours visiting locales all over the planet, from Jackson Hole to Costa Rica to Tibet. I think it an excellent tool to help one get a better sense of place for where they live, and to better visualize the breadth and diversity of the planet's geographies and ecosystems. It gives one a bird's eye view of the land, and let's one explore and better appreciate how things fit together: mountain ranges, valleys, rivers, watersheds, plains, deltas, the patterns of human settlements and the wild, empty places that still exist.

Anyways, I know of three websites where you can download .kmz files, which open in Google Earth, and show the daily movements of migrating birds. Bud Anderson, Ish River's premier hawk guru, and the Falcon Research Group are tracking peregrine falcons of Chile -- you read an overview of the Southern Cross Peregrine Project and download the .kmz files to follow seven specific birds at their website and follow their ongoing discoveries blog..

Another similar project is tracking Bar-tailed godwits as they leave New Zealand and head north through Asia. You can download the .kmz file and follow their daily movements at this USGS website.

If you know of any other similar projects where animals are being tracked via Google Earth, email me and let me know!

Birding
Migration
Google Earth