| Animal Migration
Migration is the periodic movement of an animal from the place where
it has been living to a new area and its subsequent return journey to
the original home. When animals migrate, it is usually to find abundant
food and a good place to breed.
These seasonal movements of animals are one of the most incredible elements
of nature.
Migrating animals usually use the same routes year after year--from generation
to generation. Land animals cross mountains, rivers, and vast tracks of
land. Birds, bats, and insects fly long distances, sometimes crossing
entire continents or oceans. Swimming animals frequently migrate half
way across the world.
The movement of migratory animals usually corresponds with seasonal changes.
Many animals migrate to northern regions during summer months. The long
summer days in the northernmost portions of the world ensure a good food
supply. As fall and colder weather approaches, many animals migrate south
to find warm winter weather and available food.
Some animals migrate annually with an outward and a homeward journey
made in a single year. Some animals' patterns of migration are linked
to weather patterns---their movements are dependent on rainfall and the
availability of green vegetation. A few animals take several years to
complete their migratory cycles.
Many scientists view animal migration as an adaptation. Animals that
have learned to move to optimal environments are the ones who have survived
to continue their species.
Sample some of the following activities to learn more about animal migration.
Places To Go | People To See | Things To Do | Bibliography
Places To Go
The following are places to go (some real and some virtual) to find out
about architecture.
Monarch Watch
Soar to Mexico with the monarch butterflies on their annual migration.
San Juan
Capistrano
Travel to San Juan Capistrano with migrating swallows.
Woolly
Mammoth
Travel back in time to Ice Age Siberia and find out about mammoth migration.
A Bear's Journey: Traveling 50 Miles Back Home
The migration of a young bear from Yellowstone to the Centennial Mountains.
Marathon Migrators
A teacher resource from NOVA concerned with the migration of a shorebird species.
Echo the Bat
A NASA resource about the migratory pattern of a bat.
African Wildlife Foundation: Wildebeest
A look at the wildebeest and its annual migration.
Ocean Life on the Move
A look at seasonal voyages in the ocean.
People To See
Blue
Whale
Spend time with the largest animal in the world. Blue whales migrate long
distances between equatorial wintering grounds and high latitude feeding
areas.
Orca
Then spend time with orcas--also known as killer whales. Have students
research the migrational patterns of different species of cetaceans.
Seasonal
Migration of White Storks
Get to know storks. They are considered good luck in many European countries
and often nest on top of homes throughout Europe in the summer. In the
fall, they migrate in huge numbers--often in flocks as much as 25 miles
in length--to southern Africa. Are there any stork species in the United
States?
Things To Do
Shadow A Swan Project
Involve your class in a migration project. Your students can shadow a
swan on its migration from Alaska to California. Use satellite technology
to follow the tundra swans as they migrate.
Journey North
Join other classrooms in tracking wildlife migrations. The Journey North
(South) is an incredible (and fun and easy) way for students to be engaged
in a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. The journeys
of a dozen migratory species are tracked each spring. "Students share
their own field observations with classrooms across the Hemisphere. In
addition, students are linked with scientists who provide their expertise
directly to the classroom. Several migrations are tracked by satellite
telemetry, providing live coverage of individual animals as they migrate.
As the spring season sweeps across the Hemisphere, students note changes
in daylight, temperatures, & all living things as the food chain comes
back to life."
Migration
and Navigation
Discover how migrating animals may navigate on their long journeys. In
the U.S., about 245 species of birds migrate to Central or South America
including herons, swallows, flycatchers, hawks, falcons, owls, and warblers.
In Europe, many birds migrate back and forth to Africa.
Utah Birds
Track the migration of birds across our state. This is also a great site
to find photos and range maps of the bird species in Utah as well as popular
birding places in each county. You can also call the Utah State Birdline,
(801) 538-4730, to find out the latest in birding news.
HawkWatch International
Follow along with volunteers during raptor migration as they harmlessly trap
and band thousands of birds of prey as they travel through flyways in the United
States.
Migration
of Animals
Learn which animal only migrates once in a lifetime. Other animals migrate
daily, monthly (by the moon), or seasonally.
Migration
of Birds
Find out why birds migrate, how weather affects migrating birds' progress,
and what human activities threaten migratory birds.
Gray
Whale
Learn about gray whales. They breed and winter in the warm waters around
Mexico and migrate north to the seas around the Bering Strait.
Formation
Flying Makes Migration Less of a Drag
Many migrating birds fly in a "V" formation. Find out why.
Caribbean Conservation
Track endangered sea turtles as they travel to the east coast of the United
States to lay their eggs in rapidly disappearing coastal areas. You can
send for free teaching guides and materials for classroom use.
Audubon
Become acquainted with the resources at the Audubon Society. There are
over 9500 species of birds worldwide, and nearly half of those species
are migrants. They fly from one area of the world to another according
to seasonal changes in food supply and weather. Birds lead an active life
and have a high metobolic rate. Because of this, they need abundant food
sources year round, and many must migrate to find necessary food supplies.
Pioneer: Utah's Online
Library
In recent news accounts, it's been reported that penguins that normally
live around the southern tip of South America have been turning up on
the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Have students use the newspaper
sources from Pioneer to see what scientists have to say about the weather
patterns that are causing penguins to waddle ashore on warm, tropical
sand.
Bibliography
- Able, Kenneth P. Gatherings of Angels : Migrating Birds and Their
Ecology. Ithaca, NY : Comstock Books, c1999.
- Arnold, Caroline. Hawk Highway in the Sky : Watching Raptor Migration.
San Diego : Harcourt Brace, c1997.
- Bennett, Paul. Migration. New York : Thomson Learning, c1995.
- Carter, Kyle. Animals That Travel. Vero Beach, FL : Rourke, 1995.
- Elphick, Jonathan. The Atlas of Bird Migration : Tracing the Great
Journeys of the World's Birds. New York : Random House, c1995.
- Fowler, Allan. Animals on the Move. New York : Children's Press, c2000.
- Garcia, Eulalia. Storks : Majestic Migrators. Milwaukee : Gareth Stevens,
1996.
- Kerlinger, Paul. How Birds Migrate. Mechanicsburg, PA : Stackpole
Books, c1995.
- Miller, Debbie S. Flight of the Golden Plover : The Amazing Migration
Between Hawaii and Alaska. Anchorage : Alaska Northwest Books, c1996.
- Riha, Susanne. Animal Journeys : Life Cycles and Migrations. Woodbridge,
Conn. : Blackbirch Press, c1999.
- Sayre, April Pulley. Home at Last : A Song of Migration. New York
: Holt, 1998.
- Simon, Seymour. Ride the Wind : Airborne Journeys of Animals and Plants.
San Diego : Browndeer Press, c1997.
- Weidensaul, Scott. Living on the Wind : Across the Hemisphere with
Migratory Birds. New York : North Point Press, c1999.
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