Get Ready For A Billion Birds Soaring South This Week From MN To TX

If you are a fan of birds, the next few days/nights will be big for you. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states that over the next three nights, more than a billion birds are expected to be headed south, which can create chaos on weather radar, as well as issues for airplanes operating after dark.

Large Flocks Of Birds Heading South

We are entering peak migration for many birds in and around Minnesota. A graphic from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology shows that the bird migration is peaking with an estimated 1.1 billion birds flying south over the next three nights.

A majority of the birds flying south are going to areas like Louisiana, Texas, and Northern Mexico to spend the winter months before heading back north in the spring.

Just the other night, a meteorologist in Indiana posted a picture of a weather radar graphic that seemed to show precipitation falling across the viewing area, but instead it was just birds flying south.

The Calendar Shows We Are Close To Sandhill Crane Migration

Not too far from the St. Cloud area, you can find the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. Normally, when the calendar turns to October, you'll find a large number of sandhill cranes migrating through the area, and it makes for spectacular sights and photos of the large birds landing and walking around.

Right now, it's looking like the 2nd week in October will be when the cranes are expected, but as always, that can and will change with the weather.

You Can Help The Birds' Migration By Doing One Key Thing

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services, the one thing that you and I can do to assist the migrating birds is one that, in the long term, will save us some money. You should be turning off your outdoor lights; if you can't turn them off, dim them.

"Turn off your lights! It’s really easy to turn off or dim our lights at night during peak migration season. If you can’t turn off all lights, consider turning off or dimming exterior lights – the flood lights that face up into the sky, roof-top lights that illuminate the surrounding landscape, or set motion-sensored lights to only be active when people are present."

Some other things that you can do would be to paint or cover your outdoor glass in an effort to make it more visible to birds, you can also put out bird food, or create an area that is bird-friendly by "leaving leaf litter and fallen branches on the ground can create natural foraging opportunities and provide cover from predators."