Birds migrate south in the fall to 

 spend the winter, then move north 

 again in the spring to nest. Fall 

 migration is better for 

 birdwatchers because of the 

 autumnal north/south winds. "The 

 coast acts like a funnel," says 

 Jim Parnell, a biologist at the 

 University of North Carolina 

 at Wilmington. "The 

 birds line up 

 along 



the coast in 

 the fall. The winds 

 don't concentrate 

 birds in the spring." 



Some migrating birds claim 

 North Carolina as their winter home. 

 "If you're from northern Canada, 

 North Carolina seems like a great 

 place to winter," says Parnell. Every 

 year, Lake Mattamuskeet is visited 

 by 25,000 to 30,000 snowy-white 

 guests. From November to February, 

 the lake is home to the tundra swan, 

 from the Alaskan tundra and North- 

 west territories, as well as a small 

 flock of Canadian geese, snow geese 

 and thousands of ducks — both divers 

 and puddle ducks. 



"The theory is that the swans used 

 to winter in the Chesapeake Bay 

 area," says Don Temple, refuge 

 manager at Lake Mattamuskeet. "But 

 the decline of submerged aquatic 

 vegetation, the swan's primary food 

 source, brought them here." 



At Lake Mattamuskeet, the swans 

 also feed on the surplus crops of 

 winter wheat found in the area. 



For Walker Golder, an ornitholo- 

 gist and photographer at Wrightsville 

 Beach, there's more to birdwatching 

 than what's in plain sight. "If you go 

 out to the end of a pier and get away 

 from the noise of the street," he says, 

 "you'd be amazed at what you can 

 hear — songbirds, ducks, shorebirds. 

 A lot of people bird by ear more often 

 than they bird by sight." 



Although scientists can tell you 



4 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1995 



which species is which 

 and when each is likely 

 to come, they can't tell 

 you why. Food avail- 

 ability is one of the 

 factors many suspect 

 cause migrations. "If 

 you're an insect 

 eater, then all the 

 food is gone in 

 cold condi- 

 tions," says 

 Parnell. "If 

 you're a seed 

 eater, then all the 

 seeds might be 

 covered in ice." 

 Other birds may 

 move to escape cold, harsh 

 winter weather. "Some may 

 migrate because it's traditional to 

 move south," says Parnell. "But in 

 many cases, it's survival." 



Whatever the reason, says 

 Golder, "It's a great time to be out 

 birdwatching." 



Birds aren't the only passers-by in 

 the fall. Look for the orange of the 

 migrating monarch. Although the 

 trickle of southbound butterflies begins 

 in late summer, September is the peak. 

 The flutterers move from northern 

 breeding grounds south along the 

 Atlantic Ocean. 



The butterfly's migration is 

 thought to be initiated by sudden 

 temperature changes and a 

 decrease in daylight hours. A 

 butterfly will migrate if it 

 can't withstand cold 

 winters through hiberna- 

 tion. Instead it will move 

 south, following the 

 nectar of fall-blooming 

 flowers and weeds. 

 Although butterflies fly 

 low, about 15 to 20 feet 

 above the ground, they 

 move higher when they 

 come across large build- 

 ings or forests. 



When temperatures 

 drop in the evening, the 

 butterflies roost on tree 

 branches. Monarchs prefer trees 

 with slender leaf partitions or leaf 



segments that are deeply serrated, 

 which are easier for their claws to 

 grasp. The butterflies squeeze together 

 in small clumps, and sometimes as 

 many as 1,000 monarchs overnight on 

 one tree. 



If the monarch kept flying through 

 the night, its wings could paralyze with 

 the cold. The butterfly would fall to the 

 ground to be eaten by beetles, ants or 

 mice. 



Some monarch females begin 

 migration before laying their eggs. 

 These butterflies often leave the green 

 caterpillar pupae scattered en route. 



Rests and Hibernations 



Many await the fall as turtle- 

 hatching season. On chilly autumn 

 nights, the curious wait to spy logger- 

 head sea turtle hatchlings crawling en 

 masse to the ocean. Back at the marsh, 

 turtles are also hatching. Tiny diamond- 

 backs break from their shells, dig out of 

 their nests and head toward the waters 

 they've never seen before. There, like 

 most land turtles, they will search for a 

 place to spend the winter hibernating 

 — buried deep in the mud. 



"The diamondback terrapin 

 would follow this pattern," says 

 Braswell, "but the yellow-bellied 

 slider turtle's young might stay 

 in the nest." 



