Living organisms have evolved to take advantage of natural phenomena. As an example, we know that on a cool, sunny morning warm air near the ground rises quickly into the sky because the warm air is less dense than the cool air.
In the Fall of the year, there are many cool mornings with bright, sunny skies. The sun heats the surface of the Earth and the heat is radiated into the air. As the warm air at ground level starts to rise, it creates updrafts. These rising warm air currents are called "thermals."
Daytime birds of prey, called diurnal raptors, time their annual migration to coincide with those cool and sunny fall days. They use the thermals to help lift them into the sky where they can catch crosswinds that will push them toward the south.
If you see a diurnal raptor on an autumn day, you will hardly ever see it flap its wings. Each time a bird flaps its wings, it expends a tiny amount of energy...energy that needs to be saved for the long journey south. By riding and soaring on the thermals, birds of prey conserve their energy for the hundreds or thousands of miles that lay ahead of them.
On Friday morning, September 25, the Honors Bio classes went outside to fly the giant Solar Bag. The air inside the black bag heats quickly in the sun and the bag rises rapidly into the sky. While we had great fun chasing the bag around the soccer field, we also saw a very important lesson. High in the sky overhead we noticed an adult bald eagle soaring with wings spread wide flying from the north to the south.
12 Common Diurnal Raptors in Maine
Buteos
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Falcons
Peregrine Falcon
American Kestrel
Merlin
Accipiters
Northern Goshawk
Cooper's Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Osprey
Eagle
Bald Eagle
Post a picture. Genus and species name.
Keys to telling Turkey Vulture apart from all others
Silhouettes
Pairs...which one is likely to be seen in the early fall season, and which one later in the season?
Trivia
In the Fall of the year, there are many cool mornings with bright, sunny skies. The sun heats the surface of the Earth and the heat is radiated into the air. As the warm air at ground level starts to rise, it creates updrafts. These rising warm air currents are called "thermals."
Daytime birds of prey, called diurnal raptors, time their annual migration to coincide with those cool and sunny fall days. They use the thermals to help lift them into the sky where they can catch crosswinds that will push them toward the south.
If you see a diurnal raptor on an autumn day, you will hardly ever see it flap its wings. Each time a bird flaps its wings, it expends a tiny amount of energy...energy that needs to be saved for the long journey south. By riding and soaring on the thermals, birds of prey conserve their energy for the hundreds or thousands of miles that lay ahead of them.
On Friday morning, September 25, the Honors Bio classes went outside to fly the giant Solar Bag. The air inside the black bag heats quickly in the sun and the bag rises rapidly into the sky. While we had great fun chasing the bag around the soccer field, we also saw a very important lesson. High in the sky overhead we noticed an adult bald eagle soaring with wings spread wide flying from the north to the south.
12 Common Diurnal Raptors in Maine
Buteos
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Falcons
Peregrine Falcon
American Kestrel
Merlin
Accipiters
Northern Goshawk
Cooper's Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Osprey
Eagle
Bald Eagle
Hawk Mountain
Hawk Migration Association
Post a picture. Genus and species name.
Keys to telling Turkey Vulture apart from all others
Silhouettes
Pairs...which one is likely to be seen in the early fall season, and which one later in the season?
Trivia