blinding hot sun
by Thomas Klodowsky
a t-shirt in February
confused birdsongs
New Jersey, the state I’ve lived in all my life, just experienced the warmest January on record, and any accumulation of snow seems to be a distant hope. NJ is also one of the fastest warming states of the last 50 years. As nice as it’s felt outside (even reaching over 60 F) so far this year, it makes me nervous for what future winters might hold, confusing wildlife, vegetation, and people.
In fact, evidence is already increasing that early and false springs occurring as a result of climate change are detrimentally affecting bird populations in a number of ways, from disrupting migratory cycles to setting them out of sync with key food sources such as caterpillars.
Further reading:
‘NJ experienced a record warm January. What’s the outlook for the rest of winter?’, NorthJersey.com: https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/environment/2023/02/10/nj-had-warmest-january-on-record-what-will-rest-of-winter-bring/69889744007/
‘False Springs: How Earlier Spring With Climate Change Wreaks Havoc on Birds’, Audubon.org: https://www.audubon.org/news/false-springs-how-earlier-spring-climate-change-wreaks-havoc-birds
‘Climate change leaves birds hungry as chicks hatch too late to eat caterpillars’, The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/climate-change-hungry-birds-chicks-late-caterpillars-spring-woodland-flycatchers-a8318366.html
‘Migrating birds can’t keep up with an earlier spring in a changing climate’, CarbonBrief.org: https://www.carbonbrief.org/migrating-birds-cant-keep-earlier-spring-changing-climate/
Author bio:
Thomas Klodowsky is a writer, writing instructor, and proud New Jersey native. You can see what he’s up to at www.thomask.space