Which one makes the birds move? Do they migrate 'cause the water is too cold or 'cause the air is? Or is it food? Something else?
Right, they knew the storm was coming. They knew the wind and cold air temps were on there way. So I'm guessing they were searching for food before the big push because the birds knew they were gonna be in migrating south????goldfish said:Except for your example would say they would migrate after the blizzard, because that would be the kick on the pants, but they spoke of skies filled with birds before the storm hit
sent from a phancy fone
One of my favorite stories of my grandfather, who died when I was 5 years old, was him out duck hunting during the Armistice Day Blizzard in Southeastern MN. Apparently the winds were so bad it pushed the water out of the shallow marsh he was hunting and him and several others were stranded and had to walk miles in mud with almost zero visability because of the blowing snow. I always wish I could have talked to him about duck hunting, I can't imagine what the birds must have been like back then and the gear they used. They didn't have the Weather channel app on their smart phones, they could just feel there was weather moving in and the birds were gonna be flying!Mort said:I was taught in a Natural Resource class back in high school that regular seasonal movements are driven by changing photo period, basically the length of day and night in a 24 hr period. Migration to waterfowl is basically " hard wired" ... If that makes sense ..
So in the spring longer days arrive and they go north, fall comes around to shorter days and they move south.
But when the clock is ticking on these birds they become restless and store fat reserves and then BOOM.... Short term weather happens.. Cold fronts, temperature, precipitation, and wind. That's what gets the fall migration moving. They know they're going south, they just need a kick in the rear end.
So yeah I'd say Air temp has more to do with it then water temp.
If anyone here hasn't heard about the great Armistice day blizzard... Google it and read up some time. It was a mild fall through out the Midwest until that hit.. Just imagine all the ducks stacked up waiting for that "kick in the rear!"