A Season on the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration

A close look at one season in one key site that reveals the amazing science and magic of spring bird migration, and the perils of human encroachment.
 
Every spring, billions of birds sweep north, driven by ancient instincts to return to their breeding grounds. This vast parade often goes unnoticed, except in a few places where these small travelers concentrate in large numbers. One such place is along Lake Erie in northwestern Ohio. There, the peak of spring migration is so spectacular that it attracts bird watchers from around the globe, culminating in one of the world’s biggest birding festivals. 
  
Millions of winged migrants pass through the region, some traveling thousands of miles, performing epic feats of endurance and navigating with stunning accuracy. Now climate change threatens to disrupt patterns of migration and the delicate balance between birds, seasons, and habitats. But wind farms—popular as green energy sources—can be disastrous for birds if built in the wrong places. This is a fascinating and urgent study of the complex issues that affect bird migration.

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• Gulls Simplified: A Comparative Approach to Identification
• How to Know the Birds: The Art and Adventure of Birding
• Bringing Back the Birds: Exploring Migration and Preserving Birdscapes throughout the Americas
• Kingbird Highway: The Biggest Year in the Life of an Extreme Birder
• Birds by the Shore: Observing the Natural Life of the Atlantic Coast
• Mastering Bird Photography: The Art, Craft, and Technique of Photographing Birds and Their Behavior
• Horizon
• Birds of Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama (Princeton Field Guides)
• North on the Wing: Travels with the Songbird Migration of Spring