Effects of Hurricane on North American Birds
Introduction
Hurricanes are described as the large and swirling storms. These storms are suspected to produce winds at a speed of more than 120 kilometers per hour. Compared to the fastest animal in the world, cheater, the hurricanes can move faster on the land more than this great animal. The winds formed by these hurricanes can be able to destroy trees and buildings which stand in their way. Hurricanes usually form over the waters of the oceans and at times they can attack the lands. When such a hurricane reaches the lands, the waters of the oceans are pushed to the land forming a wall of water which is called a surging storm. The storm surge and the heavy rains can cause flooding as a result of the hurricane (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2013). Once such a storm falls over the lands or the oceans, the weather specialists measure the intensity and they can be able to predict the next fall and be prepared to reduce the effects and the damages that might be caused by the hurricane. Typically, there are at least five categories and types of hurricanes and which come in a different level of destructions according to their intensity. The lowest is at the level of 120 kilometers and above while the highest has an intensity and speed of more than 250 kilometers per hour.
Implications of the hurricanes
Catastrophes to the environment are specifically of great interest to the conservationist and also the biologists since they have adverse effects on the environment and the small population such as the birds and other population of living things. These interests stem out of the fact that these effects of the catastrophes to the environment could lead to the extension of many young and small populations in the world and especially in North America where hurricanes are prone to occur (Anderegg et al., 2013). More interest is likely to occur given the increase in losses and the fragmentation of the habitats in many parts of the world, especially where species exist in smaller numbers in the isolated parts of the world. Survival of these small populations is crucial but the occurrence of these catastrophes increases the chances for the lack of survival of these species.
The birds of the air and hurricanes have always been in co-existence through a life and death struggle every year. Survival for the birds has never been easy whether they are the shorebirds, migratory birds, or the birds that spend most of their times in the water in the open. North America is the breeding ground for the migratory birds and they move to their winter homes in the tropics to seek shelter (Rojas‐Sandoval et al., 2014). This is considered the most powerful, dangerous and disastrous type of storms to ever be recorded and which have an impact on the birds as they fly away in the eastern, through Florida and through Louisiana, Alabama, Texas and Mississippi in the central.
There has been researching on how the migratory birds use the stopover mode of shielding from the storms at the northern coast at the Gulf of Mexico in order to watch the effects and the pattern of the birds in relation to the storms. This is a way of looking into the specific spots where the birds make stop over’s and the route to the tropics and how the recent storms are affecting and causing the change to the bird's movement. Annually, the drought and hurricanes wreak havoc on the life of humanity and property all around the world but in the North America, the birds are the most affected due to their coincidence in time with the hurricanes which take away thousands of lives (Chesser et al., 2013). The habitats and the populations of the birds are being destroyed by the hurricanes and this seems to not reduce in the coming years.
Over the past five years, the hurricanes have been responsible for many deaths and destruction of property in especially major towns in the North America. In the year, 2017, Florida experienced flooding, destruction of property and numerous deaths as the floods swept away almost every part of the town. Research indicates that migratory birds that are located over 100 kilometers far away from the hurricanes paths are experiencing a reduction in the population on a long-term basis. Over the past five years, though there have been deaths, these birds have been increasing throughout as a way of getting a rebound from the effects of the destruction of the forests. Research also indicates that there could be more losses of at least 15 percent every time the rain falls and causes the destruction of property (Thorne et al., 2012). This study shows that if a hurricane or even drought affects an area, the migratory birds whether they stay in the breeding grounds in the north or move to the south, this is a strong determinant of the survivability of the migratory birds.
Birds according to the research are very influential to the lives of humans. The birds can be used to offer advanced knowledge of the ecosystem type of changes that might occur and affect the human life and also give more information on the actions of humans in relation to the changes in climate. Migratory birds have the capability of sensing danger which comes with the hurricanes or the storms. Such information is used wisely as this could mean the extinction of these species. Research shows that birds can be able to hear the infrasounds and are very sensitive to the barometric pressure so this shows that they can be able to identify when the storm is on its way especially when it is as big and destructive as the hurricane. When a powerful hurricane approaches, the birds have options such as the move to the south, stay but seek some shelter or dive into the storm. When a storm is on its way, the birds change their behavior according to their parameters just according to the seasons. For example, the white-throated birds are also the migratory songbirds and when a large storm comes in the spring or autumnal migration times, they start migrating sooner before the storm (Chesser et al., 2013). Research also indicates that the birds speed up their calendar in the autumnal migratory times of departure according to the fall of the barometric pressures whereas they can delay the migratory during the spring due to the fall in barometric pressures.
Hurricanes have very devastating effects on the lives of birds and they cause the number of the migratory birds to reduce significantly over the years. On the Barbuda which is one of the most affected islands in the world by the hurricane Irma, the ornithologists speculate the fate of the rare warbler which is only left with a population of about 1000 birds as of 2017. One of the North America’s scarce species of songbird is also causing fear to the ornithologists who think that the bird is on the verge of being wiped out the face of the earth. There is also a worrying factor to the birds of the Caribbean species which have also been affected heavily by the hurricanes (Horowitz et al., 2014). Currently, the affected areas continue to look for more survivors from the hurricanes and flooding while some are waiting to hear the fate of the precious migratory birds that thrive in the areas affected.
Even if the individual species survive the storm, the likelihood of survival in the future is still uncertain especially after the source of their food has been destroyed. The flowers have been destroyed in Florida, and the gulf coast and the hummingbirds which thrive in this locations have been left searching for food but seems futile (Hass et al., 2012). The flooded leaf-litter has become problematic for the birds which live on the ground scavenging for food on the floor of the forests. The reduction in the number could expose the small populations of the birds to the capacity of lack of breeding and this could have adverse effects on the life and survival of these genes.
Since time in history, the hurricanes have not been kind even to the wildlife. Some species have completely become extinct especially after being pummeled by the large hurricanes. For example, in Hawaii, a certain species of the thrust known as the kama’o has become extinct especially due to the hurricane that affected this region in the past several years (Chesser et al., 2013). On the islands of Bahamas, the hurricanes were less than 3 meters and the storm that occurred in this region caused the extinction of the anole lizards. The conditions of the hurricanes have become a wait for it and see kind of game in most regions in northern America. A rather less tragic implication of the hurricanes is the displacements of the birds. When the birds are trapped in the middle of the hurricane eye, they seek for refuge through continuously flying around the eye as a way of reducing the impact to be experienced. As the storm moves across the coast, the birds are already exhausted and they eventually fall on the solid hard grounds where they are already displaced from their normal habitats and grounds for feeding (Anderegg et al., 2013). Luckily, the birders are always on the look for these birds which have been affected by the hurricane such as the tropicbirds, shearwaters, frigate birds, boobies, and the petrels which are all oceanic birds and also some of the tropic birds.
In 2012, sandy was approximately 1,000 miles wide and wings that spread more than 90 miles per hour as she was approaching the New Jersey coast. Most of the migratory birds usually weigh less than or a few ounces for the smaller birds. Considering the intense collision of the tiny birds and the heavy winds, the birds of migratory were disturbed by the wind. The effects on the birds varied according to the species. During every rainfall, millions of birds are taken away from North America, flying into the south or the southeast over the large masses of water towards the tropics. Some of the birds can be able to fly directly to South America without any stopovers such as the sandpipers and warblers. Others such as the Bicknell’s fly directly in the Caribbean island (Chesser et al., 2013). Once they are out into the open large masses of water, these birds are prone to be overcome by the storm and eventually falling into the water where they die of drowning. The hurricanes that make the landfalls through the Atlantic shorelines leave the areas at the coast and swarm the already exhausted birds which have been pushed to the north by the winds. These might be the lucky ones since much more perish while at the offshore.
During the time the hurricane is sweeping the north all the way from Florida and eventually weakened, there are numerous birds which are left lying on the ground as a result. For example, a black-capped petrel was picked up in Georgia in a parking lot after being swept away by the hurricane. Black-capped petrels are usually located in the high nests of the mountains in the remote areas of Cuba and Hispaniola. When the breeding season starts, they nest at night while resting at the seas during the day. These birds are only seen and experienced once there is a hurricane meaning that they are most affected since they only appear during such times (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2013). Over the years, these birds have been swept far from their natural habitats by the hurricane and this indicates the high level of destruction caused in their homes. Following the major storms, in the year 2012, Aquidneck Island was found to have the storm blown birds. This happened in October when birds specifically the pelicans were swept by the storm in the state park. In 2011, the southern species such as the black swimmers and the sandwich terns were found in a number of locations in the south (Neria & Shultz, 2012).
Hurricane winds, wave action, and the wind are in most cases assumed to have an effect on the bird’s mortality directly though it has been a challenging task document. The migratory birds with their benefit of flying can be able to evade the ravage of the hurricane as long as they have the capacity of sensing the direction and effects of the storms. The strong winds and the rains together can be able to bring an end to the existence of a particular species of birds. The high winds on their own can be able to cause the death of the migratory birds through the debris, falling trees, or in the water after being forced into the water where they eventually drew (Chesser et al., 2013). For example, the bird’s populations in South Carolina except for the roosting pelicans and some water birds moved away from a storm that was on its way to destroy them by seeking shelter on the ground or escaping the path of the hurricane. During that time, some of the Puerto Rican species of birds were killed as a result of the storm.
Geographical distribution change
The storms have been named to be responsible for the change in the movement of animals and the birds. The birds are practically the most affected as they are displaced from their natural habitats which are some on the trees and some on the land. During the hurricanes, most of the birds that thrive on the surface of the earth seek refuge on the ground and despite the strength of the hurricane is too much; the birds will stay on the ground without moving. Severe storms are brought to the land from the North Atlantic and they come with an influx of powerful lapwings which blows from Europe into North America. The seabirds are blown into the inland and those that occupy the southern shores are blown northwards according to the movement of the storm (Anderegg et al., 2013). This occurs on the east coast of North America where the birds are displaced by the heavy storms up to the north away from the natural range of the birds. Although some of these birds will eventually leave and go back to their homes, many are left dead on the ground and this indicates that the mortality rate of the birds is very high. Documentation of the migratory birds has shown how the birds are being carried away by the hurricane.
The birds also experience the effects of losing the foliage distribution and the vegetation structure which affects certain species of the migratory birds. The loss of the tall canopy trees largely explains the absence of the white and black Warblers from one region to the other as an effect of the hurricane. The high trees also suffered some level of destruction such as the loss of the twigs and branches which is home to some of the birds (Horowitz et al., 2014). The extensive damage by the hurricane on the mimosaceous species of trees in the low pasture, lowland shade coffee, and the ruinate scrub during the dry limestone has probably had an effect on the decline of the wintering migrant warblers which pecks insects from the leaves of these trees.
It is a general rule among the North American birds which are traveling long distance to migrate earlier before the storm comes while those that are moving a short distance move after the long distance birds. The timing of the sandy which is late for falling means that it is a lesser damaging effect to the long distance migrating birds since if it occurred earlier, then there would be more damages for the birds (Neria & Shultz, 2012). In the late October when the sandy was headed for Cuba through Jamaica, the majority of the migrants would have similarly completed the long distance journey safely. This means that there were fewer birds killed in the waters while many were killed in the lands. A displacement of the different kinds of birds mainly involved the flocks of the brant species.
Conclusion
Much needs to be done as a nation to ensure that the high level of hurricane effects do not affect humans and the birds at large and when it happens it is the responsibility of the nation to take care of the survivors. Research needs to be done in order to reduce the effects of the hurricane and also be well advanced in identifying signs of the catastrophe (Woodrey et al., 2012). The storm affects all kinds of living things and the nonliving things. It is upon humanity to see to it that the migratory birds do not become extinct since this will be a disaster for the environment. An environment that does not have birds is just the same as an environment which is nonexistence.
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