Oblivious to science and politics, Carolina wrens and cedar waxwings seem to signal climate change with their wings. They’re among the hints of a subtly shifting N.C. landscape as temperatures inch higher. The tendency is northward and upward: stone fly nymphs moving higher up mountain streams, coastal frogs croaking in Piedmont backyards, tropical fish cruising the temperate coast.
Temperatures aren’t actually warming in North Carolina, but people will find whatever they expect to find.
Interesting. Perhaps the birds are responding to a different environmental signal.
Perhaps they are just returning to their normal habitats that became too cold for them back in the 60’s.
Steven,
Get out a bird book. Note the range of the Cedar Waxwing. Not exactly a restricted range or narrow niche is it?
These people are so stupid that they can’t even pick good poster birds for their fairy tales.
Great tits were doing very well with warmer climate but one wonders how they will hold up under recent cooling.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13857-great-tits-enjoying-the-warmer-weather–so-far.html
We call them chickadees here. Not exactly the same species but close. Once tried to make a comment somewhere on Great Tits and it got censored.
I wonder if there were changes in the birds behaviour between the 50’s and late 70’s?
Local populations adapt to local changes, every year, so the standard answer to that question is yes. Same for migration. Simple example… Canada goose migration is limited by open water/ice cover, so in cold springs they migrate further north later. The next year if the spring is warmer they migrate earlier. So all these AGW migration stories are just plain stupid because they think that birds use calendars.
Unlike hippies, Spotted Owls & squirrels have demonstrated the intelligence to get out of trees as they are being cut down. Animals seek the most convent and abundant food sources. As far as North Carolina’s perceived frog crisis…perhaps they should invest in frog crossing signs like other parts of the USA.