WINGSCAPES

Winter Visitors On Their Way

Although summer has not quite yet left us, evidence that the autumn migration is well underway is being seen all throughout the country. Soon many of our favorite spring and summer feeder visiting birds will be replaced by species that overwinter in our respective areas.

Amy from Chicago reminded us of one of the more exciting wintertime birds that often extend their wintertime range southward into the northern United States when she uploaded to the Wingscapes Flickr Group this image of a Common Redpoll she took last February using her Wingscapes BirdCam.

Sleek or Fluffy?

Thanks to their ability to individually control each of their feathers to help regulate their body temperature, birds are remarkably changeable in their appearance. When cold, a perched bird can hunch down and “fluff up,” effectively creating an insulating down coat for itself. If the same bird is too warm, it can stretch out and sleek down its feathers to release heat and help it keep cool.

This Ruby-throated Hummingbird picture for example, recently uploaded to the Wingscapes BirdCam Photo Gallery by Michael from Shorewood, Wisconsin, provides an excellent illustration of the “stretch and sleek” cooling technique.