Kenn Kaufman: The spring migration is on, so bird migration was the subject of my recent conversation with Kenn Kaufman, author of the recent book, “A Season on the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration.”
Kenn, originator of the indispensable Kaufman Field Guide series, is one of the world's leading naturalists and experts on birds. His lifelong interest in them began at age 6. He and his wife, Kimberly, director of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, live on the west end of Lake Erie, where spring brings millions of birds virtually to their doorstep.
We discussed what triggers birds to move—and why some go long distances versus shorter ones, or choose to fly by day or instead by night. Kenn encourages us to track signs of the migration right in our own backyards, and offers other encouragement. And we talked about a theme in the new book that isn’t so upbeat: How one form of renewable energy, wind turbines, pose a substantial hazard to birds when places in their concentration points—such as where migrating birds stop over during their long journeys.
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