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Atlantic Flyway

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Waterfowl flyways in the United States.
The Atlantic Flyway is in violet

The Atlantic Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in North America. The route generally starts in Greenland, then follows the Atlantic coast of Canada, then south down the Atlantic Coast of the United States to the tropical areas of South America and the Caribbean.[1] Every year, migratory birds travel up and down this route following food sources, heading to breeding grounds, or traveling to overwintering sites.[2]

This route is used by birds typically because no mountains block most of this path, though birds cross the Appalachian Mountains to join the flyway. Good sources of water, food, and cover exist over its entire length. The warm climates found in the southern portion of the region are home to many northern birds in winter, while in summer the region is home to many bird species from South America.[3]

Land located within the Atlantic Flyway is the most densely populated land out of the four major flyways crossing the United States.[4]

The journey

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Ducks and geese are born in the tundra of Quebec, and fly south in autumn to Chesapeake Bay and Virginia's famous Back Bay, and the James River, and then move southward through North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida for the winter. Northeast and northwest Florida get a great number of teal and divers as the winter progresses. In the northeastern states the Saint Lawrence River, the coast of Maine, Long island harbors, Barnegat Bay, Great Egg Harbor, Little Egg Harbor, Absecon Bay, Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, Virginia's Eastern Shore and Back Bays saw presidents and captains of great industry spend part of their winters at their wildfowling clubs. In South Carolina there was Georgetown's and Charleston's old rice fields, and backcountry marshes and freshwater rivers and lakes that continued to draw ducks in great numbers until the Santee National Wildlife Refuge stopped feeding the ducks in the winter months of the 1980s due to the economy and changes in National Wildlife Refuge policy across the nation. In the 1960s to the mid-1980s the upper Santee swamp's upper Lake Marion region used to winter over 150,000 mallards each and every winter's duck count.[5]

Notable locations

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Along the Atlantic Flyway, there are many key sites that migratory birds use to gather to breed, feed, or rest for certain periods. Some species may remain in these rest stops for the entire season.[6] Notable locations include:

Canada

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United States

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Other flyways

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The other primary migration routes for North American birds include the Mississippi, Central and Pacific Flyways.

There is an East Atlantic Flyway in Europe,[11] and one in the Atlantic Ocean.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "North American Migration Flyways". www.birdnature.com. 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  2. ^ Kathryn (2022-05-16). "Avian Superhighways: The Four Flyways of North America". American Bird Conservancy. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  3. ^ Weidensaul, Scott (2021). A world on the wing: the global odyssey of migratory birds. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-60890-8.
  4. ^ "DU Projects: Atlantic Flyway". www.ducks.org. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  5. ^ Tekiela, Stan (2018). Bird migration: the incredible journey of North American birds. Cambridge, Minnesota: Adventure Publications. ISBN 978-1-59193-814-9. OCLC 1014353260.
  6. ^ Roberts, A.J. (2022). "Atlantic Flyway harvest and population survey data book" (PDF). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
  7. ^ "About the Refuge – Blackwater – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service". www.fws.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  8. ^ "Wildlife at Blackwater NWR". Friends of Blackwater. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  9. ^ Blackwater, Friends of. "Wildlife at Blackwater NWR". www.friendsofblackwater.org. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  10. ^ "Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge" (PDF). U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. September 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  11. ^ Network, Atlantic Flyway. "Atlantic Flyway Network – HOME". atlanticflyway.org. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
  12. ^ "North American Migration Flyways". 2017-03-16. Archived from the original on 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2018-06-03.
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