When it comes time to move 

 south ; birds seem to have a mete- 

 orological sense about them ; Wal- 

 ters says. "Birds are incredibly 

 sensitive to weather conditions. In 

 the fall, they look for a cold front 

 because the winds are usually 

 north/south at the leading edge of 

 a cold front. And the temperatures 

 change at the edge of the front ; 

 and the birds sense that/ 7 Walters 

 says. 



"Then everybody who's fat 

 enough takes off/ 7 he adds. 



Those north/south winds are 

 partly responsible for North Caro- 

 lina^ popularity with birds. And 

 since our coast is oriented from 

 northeast to southwest ; the winds 

 help sweep vast numbers of birds 

 to our shores ; Quay says. 



For beachgoers, the fall months 

 are a perfect time for bird-watch- 

 ing. There are good locations all 

 along our coast for catching a 

 glimpse of migrating birds ; Quay 

 says. 



There 7 s no major peak of migra- 

 tion along the Carolina coast in 

 the fall. Instead ; you 7 re likely to 

 see birds overhead throughout 

 August 7 September and October, 

 especially a day or two after a cold 

 front. 



Shorebirds, such as sandpipers 

 and plovers, are early arrivals, 

 beginning to move into the state 

 around mid-July. 



Colonial waterbirds, including 

 pelicans, gulls, terns, herons and 



egrets, may stay in the state all 

 winter. But if a hurricane or north- 

 easter blows in, they 7 re likely to 

 head farther South, Quay says. 

 Waterfowl, including ducks, 



geese 



and 



swans, are 



regular 



visitors to the Carolina coast in 

 the winter. Expect to see them 

 during the full moons of October 

 and November, particularly behind 

 a cold front, Quay says. 



And there's a heavy migration of 

 hawks, including the endangered 

 peregrine falcon and the bald eagle, 

 along the Carolina coast and the 

 Blue Ridge Mountains. 



But when they travel, birds of a 

 feather don 7 t always flock together. 



Adult sanderlings, for example, 

 migrate ahead of their young. 



But for waterfowl, migrating is a 

 family affair. They all fly south 

 together. 



On the other hand, some of the 

 flocks you see overhead aren 7 t 

 quite the tight-knit group they 

 seem. Warblers, for example, don 7 t 

 form special bonds when they 

 travel, Walters says. a Everybody 7 s 

 on their own. They'll join one 

 group one day and another the 

 next. They don 7 t have any migra- 

 tion buddies. Those flocks are just 

 anonymous mobs. 77 



Ornithologists aren 7 t sure how 

 birds navigate. But Walters says 

 they believe birds may use a com- 

 bination of the sun, stars and 

 magnetism. 



Waterfowl, for example, migrate 

 by day, leading experts to believe 



they may use the sun and topo- 

 graphic memory to guide them on 

 their travels. 



But for landbirds, it 7 s a fly-by- 

 night affair. Perhaps they use the 

 stars to guide them. 



Even more amazing are the dis- 

 tances migrating birds travel. 



If you think the 26-mile mara- 

 thon is an amazing feat, consider 

 the two-day flight of some shore- 

 birds from the Bay of Fundy in 

 Canada to South America. 



Walters estimates some birds are 

 able to fly 20 to 40 mph. Add the 

 help they get from the wind, and 

 they may be moving even faster. 



Migrating isn 7 t always a 

 vacation. 



The weather, the long trip and 

 the uncertainty of travel make for 

 a tough life. 



Storms can blow birds off 

 course. On a recent boating trip to 

 the Gulf Stream, Walters noticed 

 an exhausted warbler taking a rest 

 on the boat. 



And with the country becoming 

 more and more developed, birds 

 are running into even more 

 problems— literally. 



Skyscrapers pose special prob- 

 lems. For example, it 7 s not unusual 

 to find as many as 2,000 dead 

 birds at the base of a high-rise in 

 Chicago during migrating season, 

 Walters says. 



After a long migration, the birds 

 are understandably weary, Walters 

 says. And that makes them vul- 

 nerable prey. 



"You 7 ll see housecats around 

 town just loading up on migrating 

 birds, 77 he says. 



