Profs and Pints Online presents: “Spring’s Bird Migrations,” a guide to spotting our winged arrivals from the south and understanding how they got here, with Peter English, scholar of avian biology and behavior, bird guide, and assistant professor of biology at the University of Texas at Austin.

[This talk will remain available in recorded form at the link given here for tickets and access.]

Billions of birds have been showing up in northern forests and, quite possibly, your backyard or local park after having just spent months in tropical regions. All of which raises questions such as: How in the world did they make that long trip? Why didn’t they just decide to stay in some tropic paradise? Are there ways to look up and know exactly which ones are headed back? What unusual ones might we see passing through?

Gain a rich understanding of the bird of spring and their migratory habits from Professor English, who has studied birds throughout the United States and Central and South America, taught ornithology at UT-Austin for several years, and authored a variety of audio CDs of bird calls with Cornell University.

He’ll discuss why birds make these annual journeys despite the enormous risks and staggering expenditures of energy, which can cause them to burn off up to 50 percent of their mass in flight. You’ll learn how birds prepare themselves for the trip, and the means by which they navigate, which include relying on tiny magnets in their brains and eyes to sense magnetic direction or using ultra-low sound wavelengths to map the land below them. Also covered will be the many ways in which birds make the journey, which can include big flocks and formations associated with hawks and water birds but also vast numbers of solitary journeys on a clear night.

We’ll also learn how anthropomorphic climate change is altering birds’ ranges, and how man-made hazards, such as wind turbines and illuminated tall buildings, can take a toll on migratory birds’ numbers.

Finally, Professor English will discuss how this is a great time of year to see birds that are not native to your area but just passing through and how, unfortunately, such birds are not at their best when it comes to singing.

Profs & Pints Online: Spring's Bird Migrations