Spring Migration is in full swing!  While some birds begin their journey as early as mid February, migration in the Great Lakes region and Central Ohio where our nature centers are located runs between mid-April to mid-May.

At the Grange Insurance Audubon Center in Columbus Ohio, the Red-winged Blackbirds are back -- a sure sign of spring. The male Red-winged Blackbirds often arrive before other songbirds, even before the females, making their presence a particularly early indicator of spring's arrival. 

Did you know there are five types of migrating birds? Larger birds often make the longest journeys:

• Permanent residents: Birds that stay in one area year-round like the Northern Cardinal, Blue Jays, and Tufted Titmouse.
• Altitudinal migrants: Birds that change altitude, not location, generally up or down a mountain such as Yellow-eyed Junco, and Mountain chickadee. 
• Short-distance migrants: These can include the Red-winged Blackbird, American robin, Eastern phoebe, the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and the Song sparrow.
• Medium-distance migrants: These are birds that migrate a few hundred miles. They might breed in the Northeastern U.S. and winter in the Southeast. Species include many types of warblers, the Western tanager and the Snow bunting.
• Long-distance migrants: These birds fly thousands of miles, often from the northern United States and Canada to wintering grounds in Central and South America, sometimes as far as 8,000 miles. The Ruby-throated hummingbird is considered a long-distance migrant undertaking a non-stop flight of up to 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico during their spring and fall migrations. 

Despite their epic journeys, much about how birds navigate migration-especially first-timers-remains a mystery.  Researchers believe they rely on daylight length, the position of the sun and stars, smells, and even Earth’s magnetic field.

Unfortunately, climate change is disrupting these delicate migration patterns.  When birds arrive too early or too late, they can miss critical food sources-just when they need energy most to breed and raise their young.

What Can You Do During Spring Migration?