On a Wing and a Prayer
Lesson Introduction
Neo-tropical (definition) songbirds journey each spring from their winter homes in South America to their summer, or breeding, homes in North America. Beginning in late February, this natural phenomenon can be witnessed and tracked as the birds head north across Latin America or over the Gulf of Mexico. The flood of returning birds into the United States occurs in late April or May and is usually complete sometime in early June. Often, the songbirds stop off in sheltered areas along the route home. As seen in the video, On a Wing and a Prayer, these birds are declining in population each year as more and more of the land they depend on is taken away for human development.
In this activity, student ornithologists (definition) study common patterns of bird migration. They compile data from bird band sighting reports and plot the annual journey of common Neo-tropical migrants. They illustrate the four most common migration flyways (definition) and the songbirds' typical winter and summer distribution ranges (definition). To follow up, teachers, students, and parents can visit other web sites to discover more about the songbirds' winter habitats and summer breeding grounds.
Grade Level
4 through 12
Objectives
The students will:
1. list two uses for bird band reports.
2. map the migration route of a common Neo-tropical migrant.
3. list the four most common flyways in North America.
4. determine whether a migration pattern is complete, partial, or irruptive.
Time Allotment
one 40-minute session, plus a field trip to a nature center, if desired
Materials
copies of student data sheet Map of Western Hemisphere, (one per student)
one copy of student data sheet Bird Band Sighting Reports, (cut into sections)
access to reference materials, like atlases or other world maps
colored pencils or markers
pencils or pens
video/video player
Books to Read
Everything You Never Learned About Birds, by Rebecca Riepp, Pownal, VT: A Story Publishing, 1995.
Sky Dancers: The Amazing World of North American Birds, by Diane Swanson, Stillwater, MN: Voyager Press, 1995.
Advanced Preparation and Teacher Notes
Make copies of the student data sheet Map of Western Hemisphere, one for each student, to plot the migration patterns. Make a copy of the Bird Band Sighting Reports, and cut into sections so there is a different section for each group. Prepare a large wall map of the Map of Western Hemisphere. Arrange students in cooperative groups of four.
Procedure
Tap Prior Knowledge
1. Ask students if they have ever seen a banded bird. Why do scientists band birds? What could be some of the uses for reporting sightings of banded birds? Allow students to think about these questions without giving any reasons to the class.
Share with Neighbor/Revise Ideas
2. Encourage students to discuss their ideas about bird banding within their small groups. After a few minutes, let each group share at least two reasons why bird banding is done. Show the section of the On a Wing and a Prayer video (from 02 38 to 04 33) which introduces the migrating songbirds as they set out on their spectacular journey. Reference to the video may trigger discussion on how bird banding allows scientists to trace migratory routes and note the speed of migration by compiling reports of sightings. Share one of the biographies from our Career Connections with the students.
Engage Students in a Hands-on Activity
3. Assign each student the role of ornithologist to compile bird band sighting reports. These reports contain data from locations all along a Neo-tropical songbird's migratory route. After each group receives data on a different migrating species, it will plot the sighting reports on maps, and share the data with the rest of the class.
4. Distribute copies of the student data sheet, Map of Western Hemisphere, one to each student. Have students work in their groups to label the major features on their maps: North America, South America, Gulf of Mexico, etc. Provide access to reference materials as necessary.
5. Next, distribute sections of the student data sheet, Bird Band Sighting Reports, which lists the sightings of banded songbirds. Review the use of a key in making maps. Students should use different colors to signify migration dates: sightings between February and June are one color, those between July and January are a different color.
Introduce the Scientific Principle/Concept
6. After groups review their plotted data points, invite one member of each group to trace its results on the large classroom wall map. Use pieces of masking tape or little Post-It notes so that the map does not get damaged. The collective data should indicate that birds often migrate in flyways, general paths or routes for the migration. Band recoveries give scientists information about these flyways so they can promote habitat restoration projects.
7. There are four flyways in North America. Review them with the class by pointing out the routes on the map. The Atlantic Flyway goes from Florida up the Atlantic coastline, then stretches from the Northeast over to the Great Lakes. The Mississippi Flyway goes from Louisiana up the Mississippi River then stretches from the Great Lakes west to the Dakotas (Chicago is in the Mississippi Flyway). The Central Flyway goes from Texas and New Mexico up to Montana. The Pacific Flyway goes from California up the Pacific coastline to Washington. Encourage students to list these flyways in the space provided below their own maps. Each group should determine which flyway was used by the migrant they have plotted, and record it at the bottom of the data sheet.
Teacher Key:
Atlantic Flyway: prothonotary warbler
Mississippi Flyway: green heron
Central Flyway: rose-breasted grosbeak and black-whiskered vireo
Pacific Flyway: tree swallow and black-billed cuckoo
8. A closer look at the data shows that some species of birds do not migrate as far as others. Allow students a chance to describe the patterns they see. Looking at the colors of the data points, what can we tell about the birds based on the band sightings collected? If all of the colors are mixed together, then the birds did not migrate during the year. If all the red dots are in one area and the blue dots are in another, we can tell that the birds were in different places at different times of the year. Ornithologists have made similar conclusions about bird migration, and have described three basic patterns:
There are complete migration patterns, when all members of a species leave the breeding range. In this pattern, there is no overlap between where they spend the winter and where they spend the summer. The migration pattern of the black-whiskered vireo, the rose-breasted grosbeak, and the prothonotary warbler, for example, is complete in this lesson.
There are partial migration patterns, when some, but not all, of the members of a species travel from the breeding range. This is the most common pattern. Robins migrate from regions with harsh winters, but in milder parts of their range like the Puget Sound, they stay all winter long. In this lesson, the migration pattern of the green heron and the tree swallow is partial.
There are irruptive migration patterns, when migrations are not as predictable. These flexible migrants are more like food specialists that travel where they need to depending upon the conditions of that particular year. In some years, red crossbills migrate south, but they do not do so every year. This lesson shows the black-billed cuckoo's migration pattern as irruptive.
10. Give students a chance to surf the World Wide Web to visit the winter and summer habitats of the migrants, or check out the latest sites about bird migration:
