Investigating Global Warming and Climate Change

Beyond the Basics: Local to Global Climate Impacts and Classroom Applications K-5

Lesson 4

Activities grounded in climate science

Lesson 4 Activity 1 Massive Migrations

We know that there are birds that come to our backyards and neighborhoods only at certain times of the year. Robins “arrive” in the spring and “disappear” in the fall.

This movement is called Migration.

• Why do robins and lots of other birds migrate to different areas of the world at different time of the year?

A habitat is the place where an animals’ requirements for food, water, cover, and places to raise young are found.  

Migratory birds require three different habitat types:

• Breeding and nesting areas - they lay their eggs and feed their young.
• Non-breeding areas - used to find food, water, and shelter.
• Migratory stopover locations as birds move from the breeding to the non-breeding areas.

New Jersey’s MASSIVE Migration Story

Red knots are highly migratory shorebirds

• Breed in the Canadian Arctic.
• “Winter” in the southern hemisphere (it’s warm there).
• Fly thousands of miles between these locations.
• Stop in New Jersey on the way!

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/new-jersey/stories-in-new-jersey/top-must-see-migrations-in-new-jersey-the-red-knot/

Red knots fly more than 9,000 miles from south to north every spring and repeat the trip in reverse every autumn, one of the longest-distance migrants in the animal kingdom.

• In South America, (Tierra del Fuego) they the begin their migration to the Arctic
• They nest during the Arctic summer.
• Delaware Bay, on the NJ Shore, is the final and most critical rest stop on their way North.

Delaware Bay is at the Southern tip of NJ.

Near Cape May!

• During May and June thousands of horseshoe crabs lay eggs in the sand along the shoreline.  
• The Red Knots arrive to Delaware Bay in early May.
• Famished and half their departure weight.  
• They gorge themselves on horseshoe crab eggs in preparation for the final leg of their journey to their Arctic breeding grounds.

Why Stop in New Jersey?

A simulation is when we imitate what happens in nature to better understand the process.

We cant fly with the birds as they migrate BUT we can pretend to be migrating birds to learn what and why they do it.

Let’s do a simulation of the migration of some birds!

XX

X Start

Finish X

Finish X

Finish X

Set up nesting, feeding, and stop over locations on each route

Start X

Finish X

Your teacher will set up the migration area and form “migration flocks” of the names of birds that migrate.

The set up will include spots along the migration route (nesting area, non-nesting area, and a stopover location.)

• The nesting area will have materials for their nests – “migration flocks” will build a nest while at this stop.

• The non-nesting area will have materials to simulate feeding at this point along their journey.

• The stopover location will be an opportunity for the “migration flocks” to listen to practice a migratory bird call and socialize with fellow flyers.

As your “migration flocks” fly from the beginning to the end you will count how many steps your flock takes and record that number at each stop.

• Follow the directions at each stop.
• At each stop record these things on the activity sheet
• How many steps did I take?
• What did I do at this stop?
• When you reach the end sit down in a circle and add up all three numbers and record your answer.