Your summer visitors are heading south by the millions. Thrushes, warblers, orioles and many more songbirds are either packing up for the journey now or will soon join those already on the move. A majority travel at night but swallows migrate in the day. There are still weeks of migration ahead with adults and juveniles heading south in waves. Movements increase when northerly winds blow because a tail wind makes the trip a lot easier. Unlike the hustle of spring, they are in no hurry.

Sandpipers gather to stock up on tiny invertebrates along the shorelines of major rivers and especially the Great Lakes. September is a key month for hawk migration too. These birds are most frequently seen overhead riding on north winds. They are particularly fond of searching for thermals, areas of rising air enabling them to move higher without flapping, saving energy.

Happy Birding!

By Brian Morin

Publisher of Ontario Birding News