From the WI DNR News
The observance in Wisconsin of an international day intended to draw attention to the plight of migratory birds will focus on the threat migratory birds face from possible collisions with a variety of obstacles they encounter during their migrations.
May 14 has been designated nationwide as International Migratory Bird Day in an effort to draw attention to the many threats facing migratory bird species.
Each spring, hundreds of thousands of birds return to Wisconsin from Mexico and Central and South America. These birds are called neotropical migrants, named after the Neotropics where they spend the winter. International Migratory Bird Day traditionally is scheduled to coincide with return of neotropical migrant birds to Wisconsin. These birds include some duck and raptor species and many shorebird, waterbird, and songbird species. Probably the most prominent songbirds are the warblers, says DNR ornithologist Sumner Matteson, of which close to 35 species may be observed in Wisconsin.
"They are the crown jewels of the bird world," he says. "Each May they transform Wisconsin's woods and woodlots with song and color. Many stay only a few days at a time before continuing north, and while they are here they seldom linger in one spot because they flit from tree to tree or shrub to shrub gleaning insects from leaves and bark."
There is concern that populations of these birds are declining primarily due to habitat loss, but also due to other threats such as increasing numbers of cell phone and other radio towers, wind turbines, and even windows of large buildings or homes.
"I've seen some dramatic video from Chicago showing migrating songbirds becoming disoriented by bright building lights at night and crashing into skyscraper windows, " says Matteson. "This is nothing new, especially to bird watchers in the Chicago region who have known about this problem for years. It's only been recently, however, that the city's "Lights Out" campaign, which is a cooperative program during spring and fall migration involving the City of Chicago, building owners, and conservationists, is becoming more widely known and appreciated in saving the lives of thousands of songbirds. Perhaps the same type of program can occur in our cities." For more information on Chicago's "Lights Out" campaign, see the Audubon Chicago Region's Web site at .
Additional materials and resources, including the booklet called "Collisions", are available from the IMBD Web site .
International Migratory Bird Day activities are sponsored by the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative, the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, the Milwaukee County Zoo, Wisconsin DNR, Madison Audubon Society, Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, Riveredge Nature Center, National Park Service, and several other organizations. More information about events can be found on the Wisconsin Bird Conservation Initiative Web site at:
