California's drought is disrupting migratory birds' journey.
OCT. 25 2022
Birds migrating from California at the end of October are going to have a much different, more treacherous experience than birds in year's past. According to SF Chronicle, many local bird species, such as the white-faced ibis, rely on ponds and marshes as stopping points to rest and rehydrate. But most of those wetlands have been dried up — which means these birds touch down momentarily before flying again, without really resting.
“A lot of the birds are just bypassing the mid-continent and going straight to the Central Valley, but there’s not a lot of habitat to support them there either,” UFWS biologist John Vradenburg stated, per SF Chronicle. “Wetland availability is just really low (everywhere) right now. This landscape (level) drying is a phenomenon we haven’t really seen probably since the 1930s, the Dust Bowl.”
This could lead to starvation, disease, vulnerability to predators, and reproductive issues.
With California's driest three-year record, which followed a five-year drought, scientists worry the risks of this will only increase.
“In a lot of ways, the (birds) are built to handle drought,” Jeff McCreary, western director of operations for conservation and hunting advocacy group Ducks Unlimited stated. “If the drought continues years on end, though, it will start to outpace the ability of the birds to respond.”
https://www.greenmatters.com/news/bird-migration-climate-change
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/california-drought-bird-migration-17531568.php