bird migration underway

 oTis loves birds!

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Create your own stopover site

Your yard can be a place for birds to rest and refuel during migration:

Plant trees and shrubs that provide food and shelter.

Provide a birdbath and/or dishes of clean water.

Avoid using pesticides on grass or plants.

Keep bird feeders filled with seeds, suet and nuts.

Leave plant stalks standing for seed eaters.

Alert birds to windows with UV-reflecting decals.

Keep cats indoors, especially during migration.

Going the distance

How far do rose-breasted grosbeaks travel? A bird that departs from Baudette, Minn., in the fall may travel as far south as Panama or northern South America, some 3,300 miles, one way.

Eye on migration

You can track bird migration by using two amazing free tools, one estimating migration night by night, the other depicting a bird's travel year.

BirdCast Migration Dashboard estimates the total number of birds migrating through your county on any given night (start here: birdcast.info/about).

And the Bird Migration Explorer allows users to enter a bird species, then watch its migration route over a year's time (start at: explorer.audubon.org).