Connecticut

NATURE Common Core State Standard

ELA Reading Informational Text (Grades 3-6) CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3-6.1 and CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.3-6.2

MIGRATION
Text and graphics provided by Jay Kaplan, Roaring Brook Nature Center
Migration (mi gra shen) – act of moving periodically from one climate or region to another – Webster’s Dictionary
• Animals migrate from Connecticut in the Fall as day length and temperatures decrease and certain foods, such as insects or flower
nectar become scarce.
• Many species of birds, some bats, butterflies and dragonflies migrate through CT in autumn.
Male Scarlet Tanager - photo from RBNC
• Some species may travel all the way to South America, others only a short distance to the middle
Atlantic States (ie: Broad-winged Hawk and bobolink to South America, ruby-throated humming-
bird and wood thrush to Central America, robin, northern flicker and yellow-rumped warbler to
southern United States)

Little known migration facts:

• Monarch butterflies, weighing about one half a gram (.017 ounces), travel from Connecticut and
other New England states to mountains outside Mexico City in central Mexico. The distance from
Hartford to Mexico City is 2191 miles!
• The Arctic Tern nests in the far reaches of North America and winters as far south as the Antarctic.
It literally flies almost around the world each year - a distance of up to 22,000 miles!
• The Common Green Darner, one of our largest dragonflies, can be seen by the hundreds
migrating along the CT coast in the Fall. Scientists are only just beginning to unravel the mystery
of where they go and how they spend the winter.
• Some species of bats actually migrate north to hibernate in caves in Massachusetts and Vermont.
Others fly south to Georgia and Florida, hibernate in the southeast, and return to CT the following
spring.

Where to go in CT to see migration/maps with migration routes:

• Hawk Migrations at Lighthouse Point Park on the east side of New Haven Harbor and Greenwich Point. In late
November, hawk migration peaks in northwest CT for red-tailed and red-shouldered hawks. Visit the
The four major flyways
Connecticut Ornithological Association web site, CTbirding.org.
• Waterfowl migration in the greater Hartford area – large water bodies – Reservoir #6 in West Hartford;
Batterson Pond in Farmington, Nepaug Reservoir in New Hartford. OR Station 43 marsh (Hartford
Audubon Society sanctuary in South Windsor)
• Songbird Migrations – Roaring Brook Nature Center (Canton), Westmoor Park (West Hartford), Northwest
Park (Windsor), Cedar Hill Cemetery (Hartford).
• Shoreline Hot Spots – Hammonasset Beach State Park (Madison), Sandy Point (West Haven),
Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center (Milford Point – Milford).

Did You Know Student

Other forms of migrations include:
• Whales migrating from breeding grounds in the Caribbean to summer
hunting grounds off Cape Cod.
• Sea turtles and other ocean creatures follow the warm Gulf Stream
Activity
• Using binoculars or a small telescope, you can actually observe birds
flying across the face of the next full moon on October 8th. Best viewing
current from Florida waters up into Connecticut in late summer or
is just after dark.
early fall.
• Amphibians like wood frogs and spotted salamanders migrate from • Participate in the Hartford Christmas Bird Count scheduled for Sunday,
upland forests to vernal pools in order to lay December 14th. Contact Jay Kaplan at (860) 693-0157 for additional
their eggs. information.
• Snakes migrate from summer feeding
grounds to winter hibernacula Extend Your Learning
where they may spend the winter • Follow the southward migration of the monarch butterfly at
“brumating,” a reptilian form of hibernation.
www.MonarchWatch.org OR travel to The Butterfly Garden at Lighthouse
• Birds like the Dark-eyed Junco engage in an Point Park in New Haven to observe late monarchs moving southward.
altitudinal migration, summering in higher
elevations like Hartland and wintering in • Check out the web site for Hartford Audubon Society www.hartfordaudubon.org.
Hartford and surrounding suburbs. This active area group runs bird walks throughout the year.