The fidgety class of first-graders at Stevens Elementary in Wheat Ridge have spent several months learning about birds — what they eat, how they benefit the environment and migration. On a recent morning in the colorful classroom lined with pictures of, you guessed it: birds, the 5- and 6-year-olds were discussing what the animals need to survive.
Teacher Kristina McCombie is talking about winters in Colorado.
“It gets really cold, and it gets really snowy, and birds have to move. They have to go someplace else so that they have food, and that's all part of their surviving,” she said.
But what about during a year that, well, didn’t get very cold? With the hottest December in state records, winter was a no-show in large parts of the West, including Colorado.
As the students talked about the birds they’ve seen this season in Colorado, like pigeons, eagles and black-capped chickadees, they wondered: if it’s been so warm, did any bird decide to stick around and not migrate.
The class reached out to CPR News for the answer.
The kids certainly know it’s been warmer than usual. Many recalled not being able to do things they did last year, namely, playing in the snow.
“It’s kind of warm,” one kid said. “Yesterday it was really hot,” another added.
A wild goose chase?
The answer to the kids’ question is a little complicated. A small number of birds did stay — as some of the kids guessed. But a majority of birds that would’ve migrated still flapped their way south.
Peter Gent, a birder and chairman of the Colorado Rare Bird Committee, said that roughly 10 species of birds stayed here in the winter, but not in large numbers. Gent and I met at Stearns Lake, a popular spot in Boulder County for catching a glimpse of eagles.
He pointed out cackling geese in the water along with the Canada geese. Some cackling geese stay in Colorado during the winter, but this year, Gent said more of that species stuck around than usual.
The warming climate is changing some of their patterns, and because of that, Gent said Colorado’s seen some new birds, like the crissal thrasher and cactus wren.
“Interestingly, a large majority of the new species that have been seen in Colorado over the last 20 years have come from the south. So as the climate is warming, more and more species are creeping north and coming in,” Gent said.
But on the opposite end of that, Don Hall, a master birder and volunteer with the Denver Audubon, said, “Birds are moving farther and farther north with the warming temperatures.”
Impacts on the ecosystem
In the classroom, the kids talked about the importance of birds for the rest of the ecosystem. The students were visibly afraid when they were asked to picture a world with fewer birds. McCombie explained how that change could impact other species, like rodents and insects, and humans, too.
“It makes me feel nauseous,” said Alijah, one of the first-graders.
Hall said those impacts are worrisome.
“Really, there's problems,” he said.
He brought up the example of the red knot shorebird on the East Coast. Its food source has been severely limited because of changes caused by warming temperatures. Because the horseshoe crabs are breeding earlier — meaning that when the birds arrive after migrating from South America, they can’t find the eggs they used to eat.
“Colorado, we're not seeing it directly yet, but there are birds being threatened,” Hall said. “If we sustain the kind of changes that are going on, it will change us.”
While that type of change hasn’t happened in Colorado, this winter did result in an abundance of food for some birds, especially waterfowl and birds that find prey near water, because the lakes didn’t freeze over. That meant more access to food.
Reesa Conrey, an avian researcher with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said eagles, for example, were distributed differently. Instead of hanging out at one roost near a big body of water, some eagles were more spread out throughout the state, where more water bodies went unfrozen.
Will this change bird behavior?
One warm winter doesn’t necessarily mean systemic changes for all birds are in the cards down the line.
“I wouldn't expect that from just one somewhat unusual year. But if that occurs on a consistent basis, we know that our climate on Earth is changing. And so if that kind of thing happens more consistently over longer periods of time, we could start to see some changes occur,” Conrey said.
She said there have been changes, though, in Colorado this year. Some birds, like the cinnamon teal duck, for example, returned slightly earlier than usual migration.
“Birds are distributing themselves across space differently because their food resources, their prey resources, are distributed differently, and they're following the food they're following,” she said.
“In general, a bird species that migrate is still going to migrate. They may not travel as far, they may leave Colorado later or come back to Colorado earlier, but I don't think that they're going to completely change their life history strategy because of one abnormal year,” Conrey said.
Gent said he’s seen some birds return from migration earlier, like mountain bluebirds, some of the ducks, and blue-winged teal. He said these are species that typically would not be here until the end of March.
He’s worried about how dry it has been. Habitat loss is his primary concern with this winter, as he worries birds will leave if it becomes uninhabitable.
“Everywhere is exceedingly dry, and if we don't get very much precipitation in the spring…. then the habitats on the grasslands of Eastern Colorado will be poor, and so many species, which normally nest there in large numbers, I think will only be in smaller numbers.”
Drought impacts vary
The drought could have mixed effects, according to Conrey.
“Drought in general is a negative for our wetlands and our waterfowl, but we have this other thing going on at the same time, which is that drought can help rejuvenate wetland plants and make them more productive in the long term,” she said.
“So while climate change is happening, and it's potentially going to do some new and interesting things to our plants and our wildlife in Colorado. There's pluses and minuses.”
Bird nerds
By now, the first-graders are pretty well versed in bird facts. Each student will have a presentation about one bird by May.
“We’re bird nerds!” McCombie, who has a tattoo of birds on her arm, said.
Back in the classroom in Wheat Ridge, the students are still discussing the migration question. But even more questions arise about other bird-related things, such as:
- I was wondering if the birds are going to eat my garden.
- Do they also take [migrate with] the eggs if they have some?
- How do birds keep their claws super sharp?
Those might have to wait for another Colorado Wonders. But meanwhile, Miss McCombie is helping to create new generation of bird-watchers.
Editor's Note: The birds in a caption on this story are Canada geese. A previous version of this story misidentified them. The story has also been updated to correct the species of a bird. Peter Gent has seen cactus wrens as the climate has warmed.
Colorado Wonders
This story is part of our Colorado Wonders series, where we answer your burning questions about Colorado. Curious about something? Go to our Colorado Wonders page to ask your question or view other questions we've answered.
