Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/1579-birds-snowpack-drought-flyway-wetlands-California/
Birds Are Dying As Drought Ravages Avian Highways
Migrating birds are weakened or sickened as they wing their way along the Pacific flyway in search of fresh water.
By Jane Kay, National Geographic
PUBLISHED July 16, 2015 Suisun City, California?In years past, long-billed dowitchers flying in from Alaska could count on California stopovers to offer vast stretches of fresh melted snow teeming with plants and insects.
But now, as the Sierra Nevada snowpack has vanished and clouds offer little rain, few lush sanctuaries are available to sustain these shorebirds on their journey along the avian highway known as the Pacific flyway. Experts say that once the dowitchers arrive in the Central Valley this month, their prospects look bleak.
Along the 4,000-mile-long Pacific flyway?one of four main routes in North America for migrating birds?up to six million ducks, geese, and swans wing south every year to find warmth after raising young in the rich habitats of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. They are joined by millions of shorebirds, songbirds, and seabirds, including the ultimate endurance winner, the arctic tern...
Birds Are Dying As Drought Ravages Avian Highways
Migrating birds are weakened or sickened as they wing their way along the Pacific flyway in search of fresh water.
By Jane Kay, National Geographic
PUBLISHED July 16, 2015 Suisun City, California?In years past, long-billed dowitchers flying in from Alaska could count on California stopovers to offer vast stretches of fresh melted snow teeming with plants and insects.
But now, as the Sierra Nevada snowpack has vanished and clouds offer little rain, few lush sanctuaries are available to sustain these shorebirds on their journey along the avian highway known as the Pacific flyway. Experts say that once the dowitchers arrive in the Central Valley this month, their prospects look bleak.
Along the 4,000-mile-long Pacific flyway?one of four main routes in North America for migrating birds?up to six million ducks, geese, and swans wing south every year to find warmth after raising young in the rich habitats of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. They are joined by millions of shorebirds, songbirds, and seabirds, including the ultimate endurance winner, the arctic tern...