Friday Feathered Fact
Spring migration has nearly finished which includes not only the familiar song birds but, many of our raptors. Some, such as the Swainson’s Hawk, travel a one-way journey of 6,000 miles between wintering in Argentina and nesting in Canada. Another long distant migrant, the Peregrine Falcon, has the greatest migration of any raptor, traveling over 9,000 miles from the northern edge of the arctic to the southern parts of South America. The tiny Elf Owl, barely over five inches tall, will travel over 800 miles from its wintering grounds in central and southern Mexico to as far north as Arizona to start a new family. And, the small Flammulated Owl (barely six inches tall) will fly over 2,200 miles from central Mexico to Canada.