Migration

Migration• Animals that move from one place and

then to another each year are migrating.

Migration• Some animals migrate to mate

and have babies.

• Many animals go back to the same place they were born to have their babies.

Migration• Some animals migrate to warmer

climates during the winter.• It usually isn’t the cold weather that

forces them to migrate. They have feathers or fur to keep them warm.

• It is the lack of food. Plants do not grow well in cold weather and many insects die when the weather gets cold.

Migration• How do they find their way when they are

so many miles away from home?• Scientists are not sure. They are studying

many migrating animals to find out. • Some scientists believe that the animals

follow their instincts.• Some believe they follow the sun or the

Earth’s magnetic field.

Hummingbirds• The ruby-throated

hummingbird weighs only one-eighth of an ounce. (Take a slice of bread and tear it into 8 pieces. The hummingbird weighs as much as one of those pieces.

• It’s wings beat more than 50 times each second while flying.

Hummingbirds• It flies without stopping

for 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico and into Mexico and Central America every winter.

• The flight takes 18-20 hours.

• The tiny birds are exhausted and hungry when they arrive at their winter homes.

Hummingbirds• The hummingbirds look for bright red

flowers.

• Their long pointed beaks can poke deep into flowers.

• The fuzzy tips on their tongues are great for lapping up the nectar.

• The birds also eat small insects and spiders.

Hummingbirds• After spending the winter in Mexico, the

birds return to North America to lay their eggs in the spring.

• They lay two pea-sized eggs and wait for the chicks to hatch.

• The mother teaches the chicks how to find food. By winter, they will be strong enough to make the long trip to Mexico.

Wood Frogs• Wood frogs come

in many shades of brown and tan.

• They have dark masks that surround their eyes. Some people call them “robber frogs.”

• When full grown, they are about 2 inches long.

Wood Frogs• After hibernating all winter

under piles of leaves and dead tree branches, wood frogs are ready to mate.

• The males leave their homes in the woods and hop to the nearest ponds or puddles.

• At the pond they make a strange quacking call to communicate with females.

Wood Frogs• Many roads have been built through

wooded areas and have become a problem for the migration of the frogs.

• When the frogs start migrating they can cover the road. When cars run over that many of them, it makes the roads slippery.

Wood Frogs• Humans have started

building tunnels under the roads so that the frogs do not have to cross the road.

• In Germany, they have built fences along the side of the road so that the frogs will not get run over.

Gray Whale• Adult gray whales

can weigh up to 45 tons and can grow as long as 50 feet!

• Baby whales can gain 50-100 pounds per day!

Gray Whale• The gray whale migrates farther than any

other mammal each year.• When the water it is living in (off the coast of

Alaska) begins to get cold or close to freezing, the gray whale begins it’s 6,000 mile journey.

• It will take the whales about three months to reach their winter home in the warm waters near Mexico.

Gray Whale• The whale travels close to the

United States shoreline. Many people gather along the shoreline to watch them migrate.

• After reaching the warmer waters, the females give birth to their calves.

• When spring arrives the whales will begin their trip back to Alaska.

Gray Whale• Before leaving Alaska,

the whales eat extra food and store the energy as fat or blubber.

• The whales use this stored food for energy during their migration.

Big Horn Sheep• Big Horn Sheep live

in the alpine meadows, grassy mountain slopes and rocky cliffs.

• They are herbivores eating grasses, young twigs, and shoots.

• Big horn sheep spend the summer high in the mountains because they can move around quicker than the predators.

• During the winter, they

migrate to the valley

because there is less

snow and more plants

to eat.

Big Horn Sheep

Monarch Butterfly• The monarch

butterfly is an insect that migrates from Canada through the United States and into Mexico.

• http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/monarch/jr/IntroMig1.html

Resources• Animals that Migrate by Carmen Bredeson

• Groiler Publishing Copyright 2001

• Watts Library – A division of Scholastic Inc

• http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/index.html

• www.desertusa.com/big.html