Carnegie Museum of Natural History

One of the Four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

Designed by the Climate and Rural Systems Partnership with support from the National Science Foundation (grant no. 1906774). 

infographic: alt text below

Signs of climate change in migratory songbirds of Pennsylvania

Follow along with the Wood Thrush, who teaches us how climate change is happening in Pennsylvania.

Since 1961 scientists at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Avian Research Center (PARC) in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands have been monitoring birds. They have banded over 600,000 birds! These long-term data allow scientists to study how birds respond to the warming climate. The Wood Thrush story demonstrates how most birds are responding.

Average April temperatures are projected to warm by 4-5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050. 

They have already increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1960s. Warmer springs trigger earlier plant budburst. Insects, especially caterpillars, feast on buds and young leaves, which have fewer toxins than older leaves. Caterpillars are the breakfast of champions (among birds). So, migratory songbirds need to arrive early, according to the calendar, to be on time, according to the food web. The early bird literally catches the worm.

Many migratory songbird species are responding to the warmer, earlier springs in two ways. 

  1. Arrive earlier. Wood Thrushes arrive from Central America 5 days earlier than they did in the 1960s. 
  2. Eat, love, nest (in a hurry). Wood Thrushes nest 24 days earlier than they did in the 1960s.

But birds won’t always be able to keep pace with climate change. 

Birds need our help. Already we’ve lost 3 billion North American birds since 1970 (www.3billionbirds.org).

Individuals and communities can help birds by mitigating climate change: 

Renewable energy 

A Just Transition1 to renewable energy sources like properly-sited wind2 and solar will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide local jobs, improve air quality, and help protect birds from climate change.

1https://www.bluegreenalliance.org/work-state/pennsylvania/

2www.audubon.org/news/wind-power-and-birds

Eat your vegetables 

A more plant-based diet is an impactful way to reduce our greenhouse gas footprints. Learn more: www.drawdown.org.

Designed by the Climate and Rural Systems Partnership with support from the National Science Foundation (grant no. 1906774). 

References

Marra, P. P. et al. 2005. The influence of climate on the timing and rate of spring bird migration. Oecologia 142:307-315.   

McDermott, M. E., DeGroote, L. W. 2016. Long-term climate impacts on breeding bird phenology in Pennsylvania, USA. Global Change Biology 22, 3304–3319; doi: 10.1111/gcb.13363

McDermott, M. E., DeGroote, L. W. 2017. Linking phenological events in migratory passerines with a changing climate: 50 years in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania. PLOS ONE 12(4): e0174247.