Visitors

The means by which migratory animals navigate from place to place are as diverse as the journeys themselves. Some species follow an invisible road map created by the earth’s magnetic field, which they perceive through tiny magnets in their bodies. Others rely on landmarks such as mountain ranges and coastlines, the alignment of the stars in the night sky, or olfactory cues to determine where they’re going.
~David S. Wilcove

Male hooded merganser photo by Ken Billington

We live near a pond that is populated by a blue heron, green herons, dozens of Canada geese, mallard ducks, and (at the moment) hooded mergansers. The hooded mergansers are only here for a little while, on their way to warmer climes. I love to hear the hummingbird-esque noise their wings make when they fly. In honor of those beauties, we have a migration theme today.

Gathering Wings
photo by Steve Wall

Morning Migration
photo by Nathan Johansen

Tundra (Whistling) Swans resting after the long migration flight
photo by Dave Rooke

Zebra migration
photo by Francesco Veronesi

Wildebeest migration
photo by Francesco Veronesi

Birds storm!
photo by Riccardo Palazzani

Monarch Migration
photo by Nicole Hanusek

Operation Migration
photo by Virginia Piekarski