| Summary: | Newsletter of the North Dakota School for the Deaf. State Doc. ipERM N67 copy The North Dakota Banner Vol. XXIX DEVILS LAKE, N. D., MAY 1, 1920 No. 15 THE MIRACLE OF BIRD MIGRATION THERE are few subjects in natural history which have interested mankind for so long a time as have the appearance and disappearance of the birds with the seasons. Thousands of years ago primitive people remarked the precision with which some birds appeared in the spring, and so great was their belief in the birds as timepieces that they are said to have been guided in the planting of their crops by the coming of certain birds. They naturally wondered where the birds had spent the winter. One old belief was that some hibernated in hollow trees and another that swallows burrowed into the mud as do the snakes and frogs. But when travelers visited different parts and found the same birds there in winter that they had at home in summer, they realized that the birds must migrate. They could believe that large birds, such as hawks and herons, might be able to fly. great distances, but how the smaller birds, such as sparrows and warblers were able to fly so far they could not understand. Therefore they reasoned that the big birds must carry the little ones on their backs. Indeed, we can still find illustrations in some old geographies showing small birds riding across the Mediterranean on the backs of storks. Today these pictures seem ridiculous for we now know that the vast majority of birds, even the tiniest humming bird, make phenomenal journeys to and from their breeding grounds every year, and always by their own powers of flight. It must not be thought, however, that all birds travel the same distance. From the birds that do not migrate then all to those that travese nearly the whole extent of the globe, there is almost a complete series. The chickadees, nuthatches and woodpeckers that come to our feeding stations in winter spend their entire lives in one locality the ruffled grouse perhaps lives its whole span of life in ^ single wooded ravine. The robins, bluebirds and blackbirds winter in Southern United States; the orioles go to Central America; many of the warblers and thrushes go to Northern South America; our familiar bobolinks that bounce over the daisy fields in June spend the winter on the pampas of Brazil, about 5,000 miles from their breeding grounds. The greatest travelers of all are found among the shore-birds and sea-birds, some of which travel to Patagonia, the southernmost part of South America, or still farther to the island of the Antarctic Sea. The winter and summer homes of the Arctic tern, for example, are about 11,000 miles apart, making a distance of 22,000 miles which some members of this species travel yearly. Some birds fly by night, some by day. Mr. William Brewster says that timid, sedentary and feeble-winged birds like the thrushes, wrens, warblers and vireos, migrate at nighr and eat and rest during the day. Bold, restless and strong-winged birds, such as robins, horned larks, bobolinks, blackbirds and orioles migrate chiefly by day, except when crossing large bodies of water or over countries where the food is scarce. Birds of easy, tireless wings that feed habitually in the air, such as swallows, swifts and hawks, migrate always by day, as they secure their food as they fly. In migrating, birds follow mountain chains, coast lines and valleys, and unless there is much fog, they usually fly about a mile above the. earth. Arbor and Bird Day Proclamation Governor Frazier has issued the following proclamation about Arbor and Bird Day. to be observed in this'state May 7th: WHEREAS. Thruout the United States and the World the natural forests are being depleted to an alarming extent, without sufficient effort being: made to replenish them, and WHEREAS, In North Dakota most of our forests and groves are the result of the thrift and far-sightedness of the early pioneers, who planted the trees, which are now such a source of pleasure and comfort to those who dwell on our broad prairies and WHEREAS, There is need for more trees and shrubbery to replace the vanishing forests, to beautify the landscape and furnish shelter and protection for man and beast, us well as for the birds that are of such great use to man in destroying insects, and brightening the day for him with their cheery song. THEREFORE. In conformity to custom, and in accordance with the spirit of progress. 1 hereby designate Friday. May the Seventh, to be observed as Arbor and Bird Day thruout the Sta te of North Dakota, and commend to the pupils in our schools and to all the people the planting of trees in memory of our honored dead, and also shade, ornamental and forest trees for the benefit of succeeding generations as well as for ourselves, and further that the teachers on that day give special instruction regarding the usefulness of trees and birds, and their preservation. Witness my hand and the Great Seal of the State affixed at the Capitol at Bismarck, this 20cli day of April. A. B. 1920. LYNN .1. FRAZIER. Governor. By the Governor: THOMAS HALL. Secretary of State. Birds are guided mainly by sight, but hearing is also of assistance to them. The number of birds that pass through the upper air on favorable nights is almost unbelievable. In the spring migration the males start first. In the fall the old birds lead the way, either alone or accompanied by the young. It must indeed be a powerful instinct which causes birds to repeat each year these long and arduous journeys at precisely the same time. In all nature there is no stronger instinct than the reproductive one, and it is this irresistible force which is the immediate cause of bird migration. All winter in their homes the birds lead a care-free life, fattening in the land of plenty for the strenuous tasks ahead of them—-the spring journey to the breeding grounds, and the nesting season. Dr. Allen states that the migration of birds was the outcome of the glacial period. Before that time it was warm in the arctic regions and birds did not migrate. The forniation of ice in the winter drove the birds southward. As the ice receded in the spring the birds flew north again to their old haunts, and this formed the strong migratory instinct which is one of the Wonders of bird life. All birds of the same species migrate at the same time. We shall never cease to wonder how they find their way, but that they do is certain, for many common birds that have been banded have been known to return to the same nest year after year. Many interesting experiments have likewise been performed with terns, taken from their nests and liberated in mid-ocean, which definteiy reach their chosen destinations. This wonderful instinct that guides the birds on their way has been called a sense direction, but as yet very little is known about it. The power of this sixth sense can not be fully appreciated until one has kept a bird calendar for several years and has seen how punctual the birds arrive year after year. The first birds to come on the spring migration are naturally those which have the shortest to travel—the homed larks, robins, bluebirds, blackbirds and Canadian geese. The coming of these earlier species is not so regular as the coming of later ones, because the weather is not settled; unseasonable warmth will hasten them north and storms and cold waves will retard them. During April and May, however, the number of species migrating increases, and they become more and more punctual in their arrivals. By the middle of May, when the weather is warm and settled, the height of the migration occurs, anu each species arrives each year on almost the same day. At this time every hedgerow and ravine, and even the trees of the city streets, are filled with the bright fluttering forms of warblers, vireos and flycatchers. The northward migration is practically over by June 1, ending rather abruptly with the passage of the shore-birds. The spring migration is such a conspicuous and fascinating phase of bird life, with its wealth of song and color, that we are likely to overlook the fall migration. Yet, just as surely as the birds move north in the spring must they return south in the fall. But do not wait until fall has really arrived before looking for fall migrants, for as soon as the nesting season is over there are signs for the fall migration. A few shore-birds may be heard flying over, uttering their loud, clear whistles, on their way south again as early as the last days of June. The swallows begin to flock, preparatory to their southward journey, about the middle of July, and a general southward movement of warblers may be noticed the first part of August. Some birds molt before they start south; others molt enroute. The young golden plover is white breasted when he flies over the Atlantic ocean in the fall; as he crosses
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