Running out of entertainment options as the pandemic continues to trudge onward? Now is the perfect time to take up bird-watching! Yes, this is the time of year where many birds migrate long distances to make a temporary home in a different climate, which means there’s a good chance that some special birds are flying by near you.
So, how do you know where to go to see traveling flocks of birds in the sky? Our friends over at Treehugger have selected three migration tools to plot the paths of various species. You can find those tracking tools below.
BirdCast: This tool offers real-time migration maps showing where birds are and in which direction they’re going. Designed by scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the site’s forecasts are based on 23 years of radar observations combined with weather forecasts.
eBird: Here you’ll find a citizen science project that claims to have more than 100 million bird sightings contributed each year by members around the world. You can use the site to track specific species or discover birds and hotspots near you. Back in March, eBird released 500 animated maps showing where hundreds of species of migratory birds travel throughout the Western Hemisphere. Just like BirdCast, this online repository was created and is still operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Hummingbird Central: For all you hummingbird lovers, this tool features an interactive migration map that includes first sighting data from citizen scientist contributors throughout the US and parts of Canada. In addition to maps, the site shares lots of hummingbird information about these fascinating fliers, such as the fact that a hummingbird’s heart beats up to 1,260 times a minute.
