Why Did the Chickadee Cross the Road?

Global Warming, of course!

“Birds are shifting northward within the state on a gradual basis that’s consistent with the idea of the climate warming. And birds are staying here during the winter that formerly didn’t,” said Kenn Kaufman, a member of the board of directors at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Ottawa County.

“So far it’s the short-distance migrants, like killdeer, eastern phoebe and American woodcock. With the long-distance migrants — and we have some that travel to South America — there has not been a discernible change in their migration.”

Birders have noted a variety of specific species ranges that are no longer what they used to be across Ohio.

“The magic line between black-capped chickadees to the north and Carolina chickadees to the south used to be U.S. 30, and now we have Carolinas north of 30,” said Cheryl Harner, president of the Greater Mohican Audubon Society.

Color me skeptical...

But it will make for an interesting new item for the warm list.