Here’s what’s happening this week in the Chattanooga area.
On the wing
With the autumn equinox arriving at 2:19 p.m. EDT Monday in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time to start watching for the fall migration of birds. More than half of the 650 species of North American breeding birds migrate, but there are a lot of differences in how it happens. Here are some insights from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
› Timing: Most birds migrate at night, but some, like hawks and swallows, migrate during the day. Most move with the turning of the seasons, but some start earlier than you might expect. Male ruby-throated hummingbirds start migrating as early as July.
› Distance: Some birds travel short distances or simply go from a higher elevation to a lower one. Others make epic journeys. The Hudsonian godwit travels from breeding grounds in Arctic Alaska almost to the southernmost tip of South America, just under 10,000 miles.